Postmates to Help Walmart Deliver Groceries the 'Last Mile'
Walmart and Postmates have teamed up to delivery groceries in Charlotte, N.C., with the aim of expanding Walmart's grocery delivery service to include 40% of U.S. households.
The pilot partnership is the latest move in the race to control online grocery shopping and delivery. The e-commerce giant Amazon led the charge last year when it purchased the grocery chain Whole Foods in December.
The new deal with Postmates will enable Walmart to overcome logistical hurdles that make local delivery difficult, said Dan Mosher, Postmate's senior vice president and merchant lead.
The delivery company has 160,000 couriers delivering products for 270,000 business in the U.S. and Mexico City.
Mosher said Monday in an interview on Cheddar that Walmart's position as one of the largest and most popular grocery stores in the United States made it an attractive partner for Postmates, which is fighting off challenges from well-funded delivery rivals.
One of the most vexing issues for retailers ー even the behemoth Walmart ー has been figuring out the proper logistics for the "last mile" of delivery, said Mosher.
Postmates is well positioned to help Walmart, he said, by relying on the delivery company's fleet of couriers and "an algorithm that is improving every day."
"We're doing things like batching orders and this is something that Walmart is really going to benefit from," said Mosher. "Going into those locations and picking up one, two, and three orders, and being able to really use software to drive down the cost and make that work financially."
Postmates has been feeling the pressure from rivals including DoorDash, which received an investment of $535 million last month led led by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group. That investment could be used for DoorDash's international expansion.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/new-power-couple-alert-postmates-and-walmart-team-up).
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
