Before Food Delivery Apps, There Was Banana Cue
- The retail giant plans to handle deliveries from its own stores first, before scaling the program over the next year to reach most of the approximately 10,000 U.S.
- Executives are framing the new offering as a natural addition to traditional grocery and delivery options.
- Fulfillment will run through Walmart Restaurant Delivery, utilizing the Spark Driver platform and its network of independent contractors.
The retail giant plans to handle deliveries from its own stores first, before scaling the program over the next year to reach most of the approximately 10,000 U.S. locations operated by the doughnut chain.
The Rollout Begins With In-Store Locations
Executives are framing the new offering as a natural addition to traditional grocery and delivery options. A Walmart spokesperson told CNBC that the program is designed to deliver added convenience by combining restaurant orders with the company’s broad product inventory.
Logistics Powered by the Spark Driver Platform
Fulfillment will run through Walmart Restaurant Delivery, utilizing the Spark Driver platform and its network of independent contractors. Because delivery drivers are already stationed on-site to stage orders, picking up food from restaurants inside Walmart stores operates much like adding an extra item to a standard grocery run. That is according to Mike Danford, co-owner and chief strategy officer at Adverio, who spoke with CNBC.
Challenging DoorDash and Uber Eats
The aggressive expansion poses a direct threat to established third-party delivery services. Hongseok Jang, an assistant professor of management science at Tulane University, told CNBC that Walmart’s extensive physical store footprint, massive customer base, and established logistics network position the company as a formidable rival to Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Delivering standalone orders of coffee and doughnuts typically comes with narrow profit margins due to low order values, strict timing constraints, and temperature sensitivity.
Operational Hurdles Ahead for Standalone Shops
Moving beyond the retail floor introduces entirely new hurdles. Danford pointed out to CNBC that extending fulfillment to standalone doughnut shops outside of Walmart properties brings a completely different set of operational demands. Once drivers step away from retail locations, the logistics shift strictly to pure delivery economics, putting Walmart in direct competition with established market leaders like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Walmart has not yet disclosed a precise timeline for rolling out the program to all participating external Dunkin’ locations.