Walmart and Amazon race to win over rural America with speedier deliveries
Summary
Walmart and Amazon are competing to deliver online orders faster to rural areas in the U.S. Both companies are using new technology and opening small delivery centers to serve towns that were previously hard to reach or not seen as profitable. This competition comes as major delivery services like FedEx and UPS reduce service in these locations.Key Facts
- About 90% of U.S. people live within 10 miles of a Walmart store.
- Nearly half of Walmart’s Supercenters are in small towns with fewer than 20,000 residents.
- Morgan Stanley estimates rural online sales could be worth up to $1 trillion each year.
- Remote work is increasing populations in many small towns.
- Amazon spent $4 billion to provide same-day or next-day delivery to 4,000 smaller cities and towns.
- Amazon doubled the number of customers getting same-day delivery in 2025 compared to 2024.
- Amazon uses artificial intelligence to predict demand and opens micro delivery hubs in rural areas.
- FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service are reducing or slowing deliveries in some rural places to save money.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.