Walmart has acquired the same-day delivery service Parcel, as it continues to focus on getting goods to shoppers' front doors quickly.

Brooklyn-based Parcel offers evening deliveries and can handle perishable and frozen foods. According to Walmart, Parcel has partnerships with several meal-kit and grocery companies

"Delivery is increasingly one of the most important elements for today’s online shoppers, as demands for speed, flexibility, and reliability continue to grow," Nate Faust, senior vice president of Walmart U.S. e-commerce supply chain, wrote in a company blog post.

This is the latest move in Walmart's battle with Amazon over delivery. Last month, the big-box chain revealed plans for a pilot grocery-delivery program in which drivers bring food inside customers' homes and put the perishables directly into their refrigerators.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Ark., hasn't announced what it's paying for Parcel.

Jet, which Walmart acquired for $3.3 billion in 2016, has been testing free same-day delivery of certain orders to customers in New York City. Faust explained that Parcel will enable Walmart to build on that.

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"Parcel has developed unique expertise delivering to customers in a distinctly challenging and essential market," he said. "This acquisition allows us to continue testing ways to offer fast delivery while lowering our operating costs."

Parcel schedules two-hour delivery windows and then uses leased trucks to get items where they need to be, according to Walmart.

For Amazon, delivery has been part of its business strategy since day one. The online retail giant made a big play for the grocery business this summer by buying the national organic-food chain Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion.

Walmart needs to focus on delivery, because the ease of having packages dropped off at their front doors is what customers have come to expect, Erich Joachimsthaler, CEO of the New York-based strategy consulting firm Vivaldi.

"Walmart always has had one position -- being low-priced. But low price has no value if you don’t have convenience," he explained. "Walmart is under siege and this is the critical piece for them to match the 800-pound gorilla, which is Amazon."

In Denver in 2013, Walmart began offering free store pickup of groceries purchased online. It's since rolled out across the country; last month, Walmart's 1,000th online grocery pickup location opened.

In January, the chain announced free two-day shipping to home and stores, and three months later, unveiled discounts on certain items that customers buy online and have shipped to Walmart stores. In August, the chain announced plans to allow shoppers to use Google's voice-activated Home system to shop without having to type.

Walmart stock rose 57 cents, or 0.73%, to $79.02, in early-morning trading.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer