With shoppers on the lookout for extra savings these days, Walmart has added Walmart Rewards as another benefit of its Walmart+ membership program.
Walmart Rewards, announced Wednesday, enables Walmart+ members to access and store additional savings on products they see when shopping on Walmart.com or the Walmart app. These discounts — on items from groceries to household staples to pet care — then can be applied to future purchases online and in-store.
To collect the Walmart Reward, Walmart+ members check off the reward box displayed with the product they're purchasing. (Image courtesy of Walmart)
“We know our customers and members are mindfully managing their budgets these days,” Chris Cracchiolo, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart+, said in a blog post, referring to the elevated prices of consumer packaged goods due to high inflation. “That’s why we’re excited to introduce a new member perk that delivers compounding value: Walmart Rewards.”
Walmart Rewards works as follows (click here for video): As Walmart+ members shop products on Walmart.com or the Walmart app, for each item they’ll see a checkbox option to add a defined dollar-amount reward. Checking off that digital reward adds that savings amount to their account to be accumulated and/or redeemed for a later purchase. Another prompt indicates the rewards earned with the current purchase and includes a link to the Rewards Center so members can track their rewards. Members shopping in-store scan the Walmart Pay QR code and tap “Use Walmart Rewards” to deduct the balance from their total at checkout.
So, for example, if after several shopping trips or online orders a Walmart+ member has collected $10 in Walmart Rewards, a $25 purchase would become a $15 purchase when the rewards are applied at checkout, according to Cracchiolo.
“Members can bank their digital rewards in the Walmart wallet in the app and online and use them to save on future purchases in stores and online,” he explained. “These new item-specific rewards, powered by the Ibotta Performance Network, are available exclusively for Walmart+ members, starting today. We’re focusing first on providing rewards on items purchased by our members and, over time, we’ll continue to expand the program to deliver new ways to earn rewards.”
In June 2021, Walmart said it entered a multiyear partnership with cashback rewards platform Ibotta to launch a new digital offers program on Walmart.com and the Walmart app. Through the program, Walmart customers receive access to hundreds of cash rebates on popular products. And in a unique element of the program, customers redeem the rebates and get the cashback rewards directly through their Walmart accounts, and the cash earned could be applied toward future Walmart purchases, a Walmart+ membership, grocery delivery and other transactions.
A big plus for Walmart Rewards is that it doesn’t require Walmart+ members to sign up, use another app or clip coupons, Cracchiolo noted.
“It works any way members choose to shop. Whether they do most of their shopping in-store or online, members can take advantage of digital offers to earn Walmart Rewards,” he said in the blog, adding, “Walmart Rewards is not static. This opens the door to endless earning possibilities for members in the future. We’ll continue to build new ways to reward member loyalty within the Walmart Rewards program.”
Walmart Rewards marks the latest benefit expansion for Walmart+, which competes with Amazon’s Prime customer benefits offering. Launched in mid-September 2020, Walmart+ offers members unlimited, free same-day grocery delivery from stores ($35 order minimum); free shipping (no order minimum) and an array of shopping tools such as Scan & Go contactless checkout (via the Walmart app) for $98 per year, or $12.95 a month. Other benefits include prescription drug savings, member-exclusive pricing and deals, and early access to promotions like Black Friday and new product releases. Walmart+ members also are eligible for six months of the Spotify Premium music streaming service at no cost.
This past April, Walmart boosted the Walmart+ fuel benefits. Members now get an instant discount of up to 10 cents on each gallon of fuel they buy at participating gas stations. Walmart also has added 12,000 Exxon and Mobil stations to the Walmart+ fuel benefit, a more than sixfold increase that made the discount available at more than 14,000 stations in 48 states. Overall, Walmart+ customers can save 10 cents per gallon at participating Exxon and Mobil fuel stations and 5 cents to 10 cents per gallon at Walmart and Murphy USA gas stations. Member pricing also is available at more than 500 Sam’s Club locations.
And last month, Walmart made its “food to fridge” InHome delivery service an optional add-on in Walmart+. The move blends two stand-alone subscriptions into one experience, Walmart noted. Walmart+ members, including those subscribed for $98 per year or $12.95 per month, can add unlimited, no-fee and tip-free InHome delivery for another $7 per month or $40 per year. Those prices translate into $138 annually for both services, or $10 less than previous annual pricing when Walmart+ and InHome were separate memberships, the company said.
Last week, Walmart announced the addition of the Paramount+ streaming video service to the Walmart+ program. At no extra cost, Walmart+ members get a Paramount+ Essential Plan subscription, a $59 value.
