Walmart is preparing to launch a subscription service for speedy shipping to take on Amazon’s $99-per-year Prime service, The Information’s Amir Efrati reports.
The service would reportedly cost less than Amazon Prime, but it wouldn’t include Amazon’s features like free video and music streaming — at least at first.
Walmart already offers same-day grocery delivery in five cities and enables shoppers to buy things online and then pick them up in stores, but this would be a big move that would require more infrastructure.
In its Q4 earnings in February, Walmart said that the company will have four new distribution centers across the U.S. open for shipping soon.
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Sources tell Efrati that Walmart’s service is codenamed “Tahoe” and that it was originally pegged to launch before the 2014 winter holidays. Now, it’s on track to launch early this summer.
A Prime-like service could help Walmart boost its e-commerce sales, which are growing slower than Amazon’s.
But it doesn’t sound like the company plans on investing too much in this new service.
“It’s not a bet-the-company thing, something that we think will change everything,” one source told Efrati.
Separately, eBay is also reportedly testing its own Prime-like service, which would give customers free, next-day shipping on certain products.
Business Insider reached out to Amazon and Walmart for comment.
This story originally appeared on Business Insider. Copyright 2015
