Walmart’s First Fashion Customer For Its GoLocal Delivery Service Is Chico’s

Chico’s FAS CHS has become the first fashion brand to sign on to Walmart WMT Inc.’s GoLocal white-label delivery service during the busiest time of the year – the countdown to Christmas. GoLocal, which leverages Walmart’s robust logistics and network of fulfillment centers, promises to deliver packages in as little as two hours.

Chico’s last week began offering local delivery through Walmart GoLocal in Chicago and Fort Myers, Florida with plans to expand to additional markets next year.  

Taking another page from Amazon’s AMZN   AMZN  playbook, Walmart in August said it was launching Delivery as a Service, a new revenue stream that would leverage the world’s biggest retailer’s last mile capabilities.

Walmart GoLocal is an important part of Walmart’s overall strategy, which includes diversifying frevenue streams and profit pools with initiatives such as Walmart Connect, Walmart Fulfillment Services and technology commercialization.

Customers across Chico’s brand portfolio, including the company’s three brands, Chico’s, White House|Black Market and Soma, will have the option to have orders delivered directly to their doorsteps in as little as two hours.

“Getting our customer what she wants, when she wants it, is another step in our digital-first customer-centricity transformation,” said Molly Langenstein, CEO of Chico’s FAS. “Whether delivering a last minute black dress, pair of pajamas or new pair of jeans, partnering with Walmart GoLocal offers a convenient delivery option and yet another way we’re able to deliver on our promise of bringing women confidence and joy.” 

 Walmart said GoLocal empowers businesses to grow using the retail behemoth’s delivery capabilities and nationwide coverage at competitive pricing. This includes delivery on a range of assortments, including those with size and complex requirements, as well as the flexibility to meet varying timelines.

“Having achieved our own nationwide delivery coverage, we’re in a position where we can enable other businesses like Chico’s to take advantage of our economies of scale through our proven and differentiated local delivery services,” Tom Ward, senior vice president of last mile, Walmart U.S. told me.

“Chico’s customers will place their orders on Chicos.com, whitehouseblackmarket.com or soma.com’’ Ward said. ‘Walmart GoLocal is Chico’s FAS delivery service provider, meaning once a customer places their order with Chico’s, we dispatch drivers to make the deliveries. 

“We’re excited to work with Chico’s FAS, Walmart GoLocal’s first fashion client, to bring added convenience to the lives of families in communities of all sizes across the country,” Ward said. “Whether they’re shopping for something new for their closets or for their weekly grocery haul, we know customers everywhere are starved for time and hungry for convenience. The beauty of Walmart GoLocal is our ability to customize the service to businesses of all sizes and offerings and give shoppers time back, no matter what they’re looking for.” 

After successfully building, testing and scaling its proprietary technology and capabilities, Walmart in July said it was ready to share its tools with the rest of the world. The technology and efficiencies that have fueled Walmart’s growth in recent years such as buy online, pickup in store, and mobile checkin, will become available to small and mid-size retailers.

As part of this effort, Walmart announced a strategic partnership with Adobe ADBE to integrate Walmart’s Marketplace, online and in-store fulfillment and pickup technologies with Adobe Commerce   ADBE .

Through the Adobe Commerce platform, retailers and brands will be able to use Walmart’s unique cloud-based services to offer seamless pickup and delivery to their customers. Businesses will be able to reach new consumers on Walmart’s fast-growing Marketplace where they can leverage Walmart’s fulfillment services to offer 2-day shipping nationwide, all while improving customer experience and operating more efficiently.

Before pushing out the capabilities to the market, Walmart wanted to test them and build scale. The retailer has been using some of them – including buy online and pickup in store – for a decade. Walmart has also been layering on its own delivery capabilities. As store pickup and other omni experiences become more popular with consumers, Walmart is offering to help other retailers, and make a profit.

In October, Walmart announced Home Depot HD as its first customer for the GoLocal service. GoLocal has established a number of contractual agreements with national and enterprise retail clients and Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart Inc.

Chico’s sells women’s apparel, shoes and accessories, intimate apparel and offers expert styling in their brick-and-mortar locations, digital online boutiques and through Style Connect, the company’s proprietary digital styling tool.

Walmart GoLocal adds to Chico’s FAS broad delivery capabilities by allowing Chico’s FAS brands to expand beyond current ship-to-home offerings for customers in select markets.