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The battle between Walmart and Amazon is ramping up this month as Walmart prepares to launch a new membership service that rivals Amazon Prime.

Recode reported on the details of Walmart+, a $98/year program that offers same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, along with other perks such as fuel discounts.

Walmart+ is cheaper than Amazon’s $119/year Prime service that includes free 2-day shipping, grocery delivery, access to Prime Video content, and more. There are more than 150 million Prime members worldwide.

Walmart is aiming to cut into Amazon’s lead in the e-commerce race. Recode noted that more Walmart customers are signing up for Amazon Prime memberships in recent years, especially as Amazon rolls out options for lower-income households.

CNBC reported that Walmart’s online sales approached $50 billion worldwide in 2019, an increase of 37% year-over-year and about 10% of its overall annual revenue. The grocery giant has built out more e-commerce infrastructure and saw online sales spike 74% in its fiscal first quarter of this year amid the pandemic.

Amazon reported 2019 revenue of $280 billion.

Amazon announced Tuesday that it is opening its first fulfillment center in Little Rock, Ark., with more than 1,000 employees — a three-hour drive from Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

Grocery delivery usage has surged in recent months due to the COVID-19 crisis and stay-at-home orders. Uber, which is acquiring Postmates, announced Tuesday that it is launching its own grocery delivery service in Latin America and Canada, with a U.S. launch later this month.

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