Wal-Mart Challenges Amazon with Unlimited Shipping for $50 a Year

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to test a new unlimited online shipping service this summer for $50 a year, a move that could dent Amazon’s $99 annual Prime shipping service. Wal-Mart’s service, which will be invitation-only for now, will offer customers select products on the company’s website in three days or less, company spokesman Ravi Jariwala told Reuters. Wal-Mart offers more than 7 million products on its website. “Depending on customer feedback, we’ll see how the program develops,” Jariwala said. The move underscores Wal-Mart’s efforts to quickly scale its online business and gain share in a market dominated by Amazon. Amazon launched its $99-a-year Prime shipping service a decade ago with a guarantee of standard, reliable two-day shipping on online orders. Prime has since become a cornerstone of Amazon’s growth, with the e-commerce company reporting that U.S. Prime membership jumped 50 percent last year. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Alan Crosby)