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Walmart Canada expands Cornershop delivery

Express grocery service becomes available at more Toronto-area stores

Russell Redman

October 10, 2019

2 Min Read
Walmart Canada_Corneshop personal shopper - Copy.jpg
Walmart Canada

Walmart’s Canadian business has expanded its pilot of the Cornershop express grocery delivery service, months after the retail giant was thwarted in a bid to acquire the startup.

Walmart Canada said Thursday that availability of Cornershop’s service is being extended from five to 14 stores in the greater Toronto area due to the strong customer response. Through the Cornershop mobile app or website, customers can order groceries on demand and have them delivered in as soon as 60 minutes.

The new Walmart stores offering Cornershop delivery are located in Scarborough, Mississauga, Malton, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Erin Mills and Downsview, Ontario.

"Customers in the GTA have more choices than ever for how to shop for on-demand groceries at Walmart," Daryl Porter, vice president of e-commerce operations and logistics for Walmart eCommerce in Canada, said in a statement. "By introducing more shopping options at Walmart, we're helping make life easier and more convenient without compromising on our everyday low prices. Cornershop and other delivery services are one way that we can provide that easy, convenient access."

Mississauga, Ontario-based Walmart Canada noted that it’s the first official partner for Cornershop outside Latin America. Founded in 2015 in San Francisco, Cornershop currently has its headquarters in Mexico City.

Related:Walmart Canada goes nationwide with Instacart delivery

In September 2018, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart announced a $225 million deal to buy Cornershop as part of efforts to build up its international omnichannel capabilities. However, this past June, Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) rejected the acquisition, citing competitive concerns.

A crowdsourced service, Cornershop’s online grocery marketplace works as follows: Using the Cornershop app or website, customers order groceries for delivery. Cornershop personal shoppers then go to one of the 14 participating Walmart stores to pick and pack their orders. Customers are called at the end of each shop, and they can approve any replacements or request another item to be added to the cart.

The companies said Cornershop has a high availability for on-demand time slots, and customers can subscribe to Cornershop Pop for $99 per year to get free delivery on orders over $40, as well as receive larger discounts.

"Toronto is our first market outside of Latin America, making it a special city to everybody on our team. We're excited about our progress thus far, and we're proud that our partnership with Walmart in Mexico and Chile helped us earn the trust of our new partners at Walmart Canada," stated Oskar Hjertonsson, founder and CEO of Cornershop. "We offer customers consistent, high-quality service for on-demand groceries delivered from Walmart stores in Toronto, Mississauga and more cities in the near future."

Related:Walmart Canada launches sustainable grocery delivery

Walmart works with several online grocery delivery partners in Canada, including Instacart, Food-X and JoeyCo. In mid-August, Walmart Canada announced national availability of same-day delivery service with Instacart, which first launched with the retailer in September 2018.

Overall, Walmart operates about 410 stores in Canada that serve more than 1.2 million customers daily. Walmart Canada’s website, Walmart.ca, is visited by more than 750,000 customers each day.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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