The new Spark Delivery service is a crowdsourced platform which provides another way for Walmart to deliver groceries to their customers. It uses Walmart’s existing team of 25,000 personal shoppers to fulfill orders, which are delivered by independent drivers recruited by Delivery Drivers, Inc, a nationwide firm that specializes in last-mile contractor management. Bringg powers the technology behind the service, which uses an in-house platform that provides drivers with the ability to sign up for windows of time that work best for their schedule as well as grocery delivery order details, navigation assistance and more.
Spark Delivery is currently being piloted in Nashville and New Orleans with plans to roll out to a few more metro areas this year. Combined with third-party crowdsourced delivery providers, Walmart is on its way to bringing delivery to 100 metro areas covering 40 percent of U.S. households. The retailer’s Grocery Delivery service is currently available in nearly 50 markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Miami and Seattle. Walmart’s work with third-party delivery providers continues to be a leading part of their delivery strategy and important to the future, even as this pilot begins.
Read Walmart’s full announcement here.