Walmart and Amazon want to get into your house
Walmart (WMT) would love if you'd invite it into your home.
The retail giant said Monday that in April it will roll out a service in more than 2,000 of its stores that allows customers to summon independent workers to assemble and install a range of products, such as appliances, furniture and electronics. Walmart had been testing the service, which is offered through home-services app Handy, in Atlanta in 25 stores.
The retailing giant's move comes as Amazon (AMZN) expands its home service offerings, such as plumbers and dog walkers, and as retailers have been looking at convenience as another means to entice customers. In that vein, Walmart earlier this month expanded a service providing same-day delivery of groceries ordered online.
Indeed, retailers are increasingly seeking to extend their reach into people's homes. Following up on its success with its Alexa smart-home speaker, Amazon last month purchased Ring, a smart-doorbell maker that streams audio and video to smartphones. It also has introduced a service that allows for the secure delivery of packages inside homes.
Similarly, furniture retailer Ikea in September purchased TaskRabbit, which like Handy connects consumers with freelance help with chores like assembling furniture.
Handy also has an agreement with online-only furniture retailer Wayfair, which added an option for "one-click installation and assembly" to purchases.
Walmart said last week it would expand its same-day food deliveries from six markets to more than 40 percent of US. households, or 100 metro areas, by the end of the year.
Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods Market last year upped the ante in an already competitive battle over grocery deliveries, with the online retailer recently adding free two-hour delivery of Whole Foods items to six cities for members of its Prime shopping club. At the same time, grocery startup Instacart has widened its client list to include Kroger and B.J.'s.
Target (TGT) bought grocery delivery service Shipt in December. The retailer plans to offer same-day delivery of products including groceries and electronics to almost every major market by the holiday shopping season.