The weekly grocery trip is no longer just a trip.

Many shoppers are ordering groceries from their phones, using delivery for last-minute dinner ingredients, medicine, pet food, baby supplies, and household essentials that once required a quick run to the store.

That shift has made delivery speed one of the biggest battlegrounds in retail.

A habit cultivated during the pandemic, it continues to grow as shoppers are realizing the benefits of getting last-minute items at home.

While online grocery shopping is still not the default for most Americans, it has become a meaningful part of how households buy food. 

And with young children at home, getting food delivered at your doorstep has saved plenty of parents from unforeseen meltdowns mid-grocery aisle.

USDA survey data found that about 19.3% of people who usually grocery shop for their household had bought groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days in 2022. Among those online grocery shoppers, 44.7% made three or more online grocery purchases in that period.

The habit has continued to grow.

Grocery e-commerce sales jumped nearly 14% year over year in August 2025 to a record $11.2 billion, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus data cited by Grocery Dive. 

Delivery has helped drive this increase, with delivery sales up 30% year over year. 

And Walmart has been one of the biggest achievers of this consumer shift. 

Now making yet another move to expand its delivery options, Walmart’s latest offering puts it on par with competitor Amazon’s recent Amazon Now.

Walmart expands 30-minute delivery

The retail giant Walmart said it is expanding 30-minute-or-less delivery across 33 U.S. markets, giving customers in those areas a faster way to receive groceries, pharmacy items, and everyday essentials.

The service covers more than 100,000 eligible items, including fresh groceries, pantry staples, baby essentials, cold and flu medicine, household supplies, pet food, electronics, and prescription delivery.

More Walmart:

  • Walmart’s new partner brings iconic brand to the retail giant
  • Walmart makes a change to be more like Costco
  • Amazon and Walmart can’t stop a $12 billion theft problem

The rollout marks a new stage in Walmart’s push to make speed a larger part of its value message, especially as Amazon, Target, Instacart, and other delivery players compete for shoppers who want immediate convenience.

Walmart said its 30-minute-or-less delivery option is now available in these cities:

  • Austin
  • Dallas
  • Denver
  • Houston
  • Chicago
  • St. Louis
  • Atlanta
  • Tampa and
  • Oklahoma City.

Customers in eligible areas will see “Delivery in 30 minutes or less” when the option is available for the address associated with their account.

The service costs $10 for Walmart+ members and is designed for immediate and fill-in shopping needs. 

Walmart also continues to offer Express delivery in one hour or less, on-demand delivery in as little as three hours, and scheduled delivery windows.

We’ve been delivering orders in 30 minutes or less for more than a year, and today 26% of our Express Deliveries are already arriving in that timeframe.

Walmart said the new option is powered by its store footprint, customer proximity, and an algorithm that considers basket size, driver availability, and distance from the store.

That store base is one of Walmart’s biggest advantages, as Walmart already has thousands of locations that can function as fulfillment points close to shoppers.

The company said it completed millions of deliveries in 30 minutes or less in the first quarter alone, reaching more than 19,000 ZIP codes nationwide.

Walmart now offers 30-minute delivery in 33 cities.

Tada Images/Shutterstock.com

Walmart sees shift in urgent shopping

The faster delivery option is not only about convenience. Walmart says it is changing what people buy.

When customers see that items are available in less than 30 minutes, shopping behavior increasingly shifts toward immediate needs and last-minute occasions, according to the company.

“We’ve seen a trend in ‘need it now’ items across categories, reflecting the many ways customers are using faster delivery for immediate needs and last-minute occasions,” read the company statement.

That includes batteries and party supplies in general merchandise, dog food and cold and flu medicine in consumables, and coffee pods, canned goods, and forgotten meal items in grocery.

That matters because these are the kinds of purchases shoppers might otherwise make at a convenience store, drugstore, dollar store, or through a rival app.

For Walmart, the goal is not just to deliver a large weekly grocery order. It is to win the urgent shopping moments that happen between bigger trips.

That gives the company another way to keep customers inside its ecosystem at a time when shoppers are comparing prices, delivery fees, membership benefits, and speed across multiple retailers.

Walmart Depot tests gave early clue

The latest announcement also adds context to a move TheStreet previously covered.

Walmart has been testing smaller delivery-only locations called Walmart Depots, which use neighborhood-level spaces as last-mile stockrooms for high-demand items such as groceries, household products, and pharmacy goods.

Unlike traditional stores, the depots are not designed for shoppers to browse. They are built to help delivery drivers pick up orders faster and bring them to customers in shorter time windows.

A public filing in Poughkeepsie, New York, described the concept as “a new way to deliver faster to more people.” The same materials said delivery from a Walmart Depot could arrive in as little as 30 minutes.

That makes the new 33-market rollout more than a normal delivery update. It shows that Walmart is continuing to build a faster delivery network while experimenting with ways to move inventory closer to customers.

The timing is important because Amazon has also been pushing deeper into urgent delivery.

Amazon earlier launched Amazon Now, a service built around 30-minute delivery of household essentials, groceries, and everyday products. The company has also been emphasizing same-day and overnight delivery as a key way to keep shoppers loyal.

Walmart leans on value and convenience

The delivery push comes as retailers face a difficult consumer environment.

Shoppers are still looking for value, but they are also demanding convenience. 

Moody’s recent report, cited from Retail Dive, said value and convenience should benefit large retailers such as Walmart, Costco, and Target in an unfavorable retail environment marked by high prices, cautious consumers, and affordability pressure.

Walmart has already been gaining from that environment.

In its latest quarter, Walmart reported a 7.3% increase in total revenue, while global e-commerce sales rose 26%. Walmart U.S. comparable sales increased 4.1%, excluding fuel.

But the company has also warned that some shoppers remain under pressure. Walmart executives recently pointed to signs of stress among lower-income consumers and warned that higher fuel costs could eventually push retail prices higher if they persist.

That makes faster delivery part of a broader strategy.

Walmart still wants to be known for low prices. But it is also trying to make those prices easier and faster to access, whether shoppers are planning a full grocery order or need cold medicine, pet food, or dinner ingredients quickly.

For Amazon, the threat is clear. Walmart’s physical store base pushes it closer to customers. 

For the broader retail industry, it is a sign that convenience is no longer just about having items in stock. It is about how quickly retailers can get those items into shoppers’ hands.

Related: 7-Eleven quietly takes over a 1,300-store convenience chain