Confirmed: Walmart makes a key decision in the U.S. and its members are amazed

In the world of retail, large companies are constantly fighting to improve their offerings and attract more customers. Strategies to speed up delivery and expand the catalog are some of the most commonly used weapons. However, Walmart's latest move has surprised both its competitors and its own customers.

Walmart has just announced that they are testing a new logistics model that could revolutionize the speed at which their products reach homes. The company seeks to compete directly with giants like Amazon, which already dominates the fast delivery market with major investments in its infrastructure and technology.

Walmart bets on "dark stores" to speed up their deliveries

To improve its delivery capacity, Walmart is experimenting with "dark stores." These are small warehouses that contain the same products sold in their physical stores, but they are not open to the public. These spaces operate exclusively to prepare online orders efficiently and quickly, according to Bloomberg.

Currently, Walmart has a pilot warehouse of this type in Dallas, Texas, and plans to open another in Bentonville, Arkansas, where its headquarters are located. If this test is successful, they intend to expand this model to more cities to cover a much wider delivery area. This would allow orders to reach customers in record time, something that many users are increasingly demanding.

This idea is not completely new for Walmart. They had already experimented with exclusive warehouses in 2010, but they closed most of them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with the rise of e-commerce and the demand for express deliveries, they are betting again on this strategy that combines efficiency and speed.

The increase in demand for fast deliveries drives this initiative

The financial results of Walmart show a 22% growth in its global e-commerce business during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. Even more impressive, deliveries in less than three hours have increased by 91% in the United States compared to the previous year.

This increase in demand for ultra-fast deliveries has become an essential driver for Walmart's business. In fact, the express delivery option accounts for approximately one third of all orders placed by customers.

In the latest earnings call, C. Douglas McMillon, CEO of Walmart, stated that, "speed in delivery keeps driving our business. Soon we'll reach 95% of the U.S. population with delivery options in three hours or less."

This statement underscores the importance the company places on speed as a competitive advantage. Walmart+—its subscription membership service—also forms part of this strategy, offering benefits that encourage users to prefer their platforms for their daily shopping.

Additionally, they recently launched a pharmacy delivery service, which adds another layer of convenience for customers who seek flexibility and speed in their essential purchases. This combination of services and logistics improvements reflects Walmart's effort to adapt to new consumer expectations and keep its position against Amazon and other rivals.