How Walmart+ and Amazon Prime can Keep you Safe from COVID-19

It would be remarkable if most of you reading this aren’t already members of Amazon Prime.  Amazon Prime has become a standard in our day to day lives for shopping, streaming media, and much more.  However, how many of you are aware of Walmart+?  Three weeks ago Walmart launched Walmart+ with a price of $98 per year, or $12.95 per month.  A little less expensive than Amazon Prime (with over 150 million users already), but that isn’t why we’re here.  We’ve been told socially distance six-feet.  We’ve been told to wear a mask.  We’ve been told to meet in smaller groups.  However, we still need groceries and goods.  In addition to wearing our masks, social distancing, and practicing clean habits, why not reduce the potential interactions altogether.  This is where Walmart+ and Amazon Prime come in.  It’s harder to contract COVID-19, and a litany of other bugs, if you avoid those that might transmit a bug to you.

We’ve seen lots of content comparing Walmart+ to Amazon Prime with an attempt to determining “which is better”, let’s not go that route.  Let’s focus on the impact you can have on being safe while saving time by using both.

“The coronavirus is thought to spread mainly from person to person. This can happen between people who are in close contact with one another. Droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes may land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby[sic], or possibly be inhaled into their lungs.

A person infected with coronavirus — even one with no symptoms — may emit aerosols when they talk or breathe. Aerosols are infectious viral particles that can float or drift around in the air for up to three hours. Another person can breathe in these aerosols and become infected with the coronavirus. This is why everyone should cover their nose and mouth when they go out in public.

Coronavirus can also spread from contact with infected surfaces or objects. For example, a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.” – Harvard Medical School

With this understanding of how the coronavirus spreads, use Walmart+ and Amazon Prime to reduce interaction.  Walmart+ and Amazon Prime just might be the ultimate hack for preventing contraction while saving time.  It’s no surprise you can order what seems like just about anything from Amazon Prime, however, often I’ve run into issues with unavailable sizes (think coffee creamers, we drink a lot of coffee), brands (does everything need to be a separate order from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods), and simply lack inventory (Amazon is “the everything store”, but not a grocer).  What I’ve found is Walmart Plus meets the need for missing items, types of items, sizes of items, and has in some cases exceeded Amazon’s offerings; at least groceries.  Noting we are still in a pandemic without a vaccine, Walmart Plus also offers same-day grocery delivery – which is tremendous.  Prior to Walmart Plus, I would make an Amazon Prime order that consisted of Amazon Prime products, Amazon Fresh Products, Whole Foods Products, and hope there were no substitutions and hope they had the sizes and brands I preferred.

Not anymore.  We adopted Walmart Plus the day it launched and we’ve made no less than an order a week in addition to our Amazon Prime orders.  What has changed?  We now, at least most of the time, order vast amounts of groceries and supplies from Walmart Plus with same-day-delivery and fill in any necessary gaps with Amazon Prime.  This is a game-changer as we now spend far less time in grocery stores and our shopping is more efficient.  In the near term, we also remove ourselves from the stores where we could, if we’re asymptomatic, infect someone or become infected.  Avoid spreading a germ, check.  Avoid contracting a germ, check.  Avoid spending an hour shopping for groceries, check.

This may not be a solution for everyone as Amazon Prime is $119 a year and Walmart Plus is $98, totaling $217 for this lifestyle hack.  However, if this sounds attractive to you, you’ll be glad you did it (you already have an Amazon Prime account, go on and admit it).

We go under the hood of Walmart+ and Amazon Prime below and, after reading how comprehensive they are (even more comprehensive combined), you’ll find it hard not to just open the apps, place your orders, and stream a movie…on Prime Movies of course.

Walmart+, Under the Hood

Walmart+ pools the already-in-place resource of more than 4,700 stores, including 2,700 stores that now offer same-day delivery. Walmart+ Members receive unlimited free delivery from stores, fuel discounts, and access to tools that make shopping faster for families.  The confirmed list of Walmart+ benefits is below.  We’ve been told this list will continue to grow over time:

• Unlimited free delivery: In-store prices as fast as same-day on more than 160,000 items from tech and toys to household essentials and groceries. This service was previously known as Delivery Unlimited – a subscription service that allows customers to place an unlimited number of deliveries for a low, flat yearly, or monthly fee. Current subscribers will automatically become Walmart+ members.
• Scan & Go: Unlock Scan & Go in the Walmart app — a fast way to shop in-store. Using the Walmart app, customers can scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay for a quick, easy, touch-free payment experience.
• Fuel discounts: Fill up and save up to 5 cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will soon be added to this lineup.

Amazon Prime – The Benefits

Delivery benefits

• FREE Two-Day Delivery: Millions of items delivered fast and free.
• FREE One-Day Delivery: Available on more than 10 million items with no minimum purchase.
• FREE Same-Day Delivery: Available on over 3 million items on qualifying orders over $35. Order in the morning, typically before noon, and get your items by 9 p.m.
• FREE Ultrafast Grocery Delivery: Get free two-hour delivery on groceries, including quality fresh food and produce (in select cities).
• FREE Release-Date Delivery: Be among the first to get new video games, books, music, movies, and more. Choose Release-Date Delivery on qualified items and receive your package by 7 p.m. on that date.
• FREE No-Rush Shipping: Don’t need your Prime order right away? Select No-Rush Shipping and earn rewards for future purchases.

Streaming and Digital Benefits

• Prime Video: Stream thousands of movies and TV shows, including exclusive Amazon Originals. Learn more about Prime Video.
• Prime Video Channels: $4.99 – $14.99/month for Prime members. Watch your favorite shows and movies from HBO, SHOWTIME and STARZ channels – no cable required, cancel anytime and no additional apps to download.
• Prime Music: Stream more than 2 million songs, plus thousands of playlists and stations. Learn more about Prime Music.
• Amazon Music Unlimited: 20% discount for Prime members, at $7.99/month (regularly $9.99/month). Start a 30-day free trial to access tens of millions of songs from today’s most popular artists. Listen ad-free with unlimited skips. Download for offline listening.
• FreeTime Unlimited: $2.99/month for Prime members. Start a 30-day free trial to access thousands of top kid-friendly games, videos, and educational content, featuring brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS KIDS.
• Prime Gaming: Get free game content every month and a Twitch Channel Subscription.
  Amazon Photos: Store. Print. Share. Prime members get unlimited photo storage, custom print options, and the ability to share pics with friends and family.

Shopping Benefits

• Prime at Whole Foods Market: Exclusive savings for Prime members, 5% Back for eligible Prime members with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, and 2-hour delivery in select cities (more soon).
• Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card: Eligible Prime members earn 5% Back every day on all
• Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases, in addition to rewards everywhere else you shop.
• Amazon Prime Store Card: Eligible Prime members can get 5% back every day on Amazon.com purchases and access to exclusive financing offers.
• Prime Wardrobe: Try on clothes, shoes, jewelry, and accessories from the comfort of your home, and pay only for what you keep.
• Early Access to Deals: Get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon.com.
• Prime Exclusives: Amazon’s hand-picked products offered exclusively to Prime members.
• Amazon 4-star and Amazon Books Stores: Prime members pay Amazon.com prices on all products in-store.
• Alexa Voice Deals: Prime members can shop with Alexa and receive an additional discount on select deals.
• Amazon Pantry: Low-priced everyday essentials in everyday sizes delivered to your door for a flat delivery fee.
• Amazon Family: Up to 20% off diapers and 15% off eligible products from your baby registry.
• Prime Reload: All Prime members can earn 2% rewards on their debit spending when they reload their Amazon.com Gift Card Balance with a designated debit card.

Reading Benefits

• Prime Reading: Prime Reading gives you unlimited access on any device to more than a thousand eBooks, popular magazines, comics, books with Audible narration, and more. Learn more about Prime Reading.
• Amazon First Reads: Read one of next month’s new releases now for free.
• Prime Print Magazines: Prime members can choose from select 4-month magazine subscriptions for only $0.99.

Other Benefits

Share Your Prime Benefits: Link your account with one other adult to share shipping, streaming access to movies and TV shows, Prime Reading, and more for free.

References

W. (2020, September 1). Walmart Introduces Walmart+. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/09/01/walmart-introduces-walmart

A. (2020). About Amazon Prime Insider & Prime Membership Benefits. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.amazon.com/primeinsider/about