I started my journey on Monday at Walmart. Being an Amazon Prime devotee, I had never ordered online from Walmart before. The website seemed pretty simple and user-friendly at first glance.
I was informed that certain items would be eligible for NextDay delivery if I ordered before a specific time. But I browsed through the website without the NextDay filter so I would have more shopping options. Most of the items I ordered came the next day anyway.
I wanted to get a diverse array of items. I started with a book. This "Archie" comics collection seemed cute.
I knew I wanted some chocolate, so I searched for my favorite M&M's flavor: pretzel. Unfortunately, delivery wasn't available for this flavor ...
Next: hair accessories. I picked up these bohemian-looking headbands for $15.99. I knew they wouldn't arrive the next day because they were sold and shipped by a third-party vendor, but they were too cute to pass up.
I added in this purple folder because I was curious about how it would be packaged. I also like purple.
I was told that I would be eligible for free delivery on all my items, which was a relief. The checking-out process was pretty standard — I was prompted to add shipping and billing info.
I discovered that not all of my items were eligible for one-day shipping and that my packages would arrive in two separate shipments.
And then I was done. I got an email shortly after with some details about my orders as well as a link to track them.
Next I jumped over to Amazon to try and find similar items to the ones I ordered from Walmart. I have a Prime account, so a lot of the items I found were eligible for quick shipping.
With Amazon Prime Day just around the corner at the time of my test, the page was advertising forthcoming deals.
I got this notice when I was looking at the "Archie" book. It told me I could be eligible for a delivery guarantee if I ordered within a specific time frame.
The M&M's were a bit trickier. Amazon was selling them, but through third-party sellers. Luckily, they were still Prime-eligible since Amazon was shipping me the item.
In terms of price, Amazon and Walmart were within a dollar of each other when comparing the order totals.
I added in my payment and shipping information and then reviewed my items and their expected arrival date. Many of them were set to arrive the next day.
I received an order confirmation email from Amazon that showed both shipments. I had the option to track them as well.
I received an email from Amazon a few hours later, telling me that one half of my order had been shipped ...
... and then another one later that night at around midnight, telling me the rest of my order had been shipped.
About an hour and a half after that, I got an email from Walmart letting me know that part of my order had been shipped. I received two more emails from Walmart the next day updating me that other parts of my order had shipped.
On Tuesday — the very next day — I was surprised to find three packages waiting for me in the mailroom. They were from both Walmart and Amazon. I hadn't expected Walmart to deliver so quickly. According to both tracking systems, the Amazon packages had arrived about two hours before Walmart's.
I had two packages from Walmart. The first one was the "Archie" book with a handy note explaining the return policy.
My order was perfectly safe and sound. Everything from Walmart had been delivered, save for the folder and the headbands, which I knew would be delivered later. I then went to check out the candy to see if it survived the journey.
Four of the five items I ordered from Amazon had arrived — and everything looked like it was in pretty good shape.
Everything except the M&M's, that is. They were almost completely melted. I wasn't sure if this happened during their journey, or if this was the fault of the third-party seller.
Overall, both Amazon and Walmart delivered on time for what I had expected. I don't technically order using NextDay Delivery for Walmart, but most of the items arrived within a day. Amazon Prime also pulled through on timing, but it seemed like there was less of a focus on whether the package was safe and complete — as seen by the state of the M&Ms.
All my items were now delivered from Amazon, so I went to check the status of my orders from Walmart.
The tracker said my folder would be delivered that same day — Wednesday — and that my headbands should arrive by Friday, five days after I ordered them. Overall, Walmart really made it seem as though they cared about the customer experience — there was a user-friendly feedback button for buyers to give feedback.
Later in the day, I received a package from Walmart. It felt pretty light, so I figured it was the purple folder I had ordered.
I opened the box and was shocked at the amount of protective padding Walmart decided was necessary for one folder. You can never be too safe, I guess, but it felt wasteful.
I ordered a purple folder, so I was somewhat disappointed when a bright pink folder came out of the box. It was a simple mistake, but still: points off for Walmart here.
By noon on Friday, I still had not received my final package from Walmart: the headbands. They were shipped by a third-party — not Walmart — so I wasn't too surprised. I went to check the status of the order online, and it said the package had been delivered, but it was nowhere to be found.
By 2:45 PM, the package arrived, and it looked perfectly normal to me. Its arrival after everything else highlighted the power of Amazon's ability to store and send even its third-party sellers' items, making the customer's experience completely seamless. Walmart doesn't really have that capability yet.
And thus, the race was over and it was time for me to evaluate.
Overall, Amazon and Walmart were focused on shortening delivery time as much as possible, but they both fell short in either quality or accuracy. Amazon dropped the ball with the melted M&M's, and Walmart let me down with the wrong color folder.
I picked Walmart as the winner this time because it was careful to make sure my items arrived safely — even if it was a little excessive at times. I also found the experience of shopping at Walmart to be surprisingly user-friendly, especially for a first-time shopper.