With Amazon in mind, Wal-Mart to offer free shipping for 30 days

CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc launched a free 30-day trial of ShippingPass, its two-day shipping program for shoppers in the United States, as the world's largest retailer looks to take on Amazon.com Inc's Prime subscription service. Wal-Mart said that existing ShippingPass subscribers will get one month free. While Amazon Prime also offers two-day delivery on certain items, subscription to the service costs $99 a year. Wal-Mart's two-day service costs $49 a year. As with Prime, Wal-Mart's service has no minimum order but it is valid only on items that are flagged with the ShippingPass logo. Wal-Mart does not offer same-day delivery, unlike Amazon which offers that option on a minimum order of $35. Wal-Mart has announced a number of programs for its online business this year, including a partnership with ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft for grocery deliveries. The innovations come at a time when Wal-Mart's online sales growth is slowing. Sales through the company's website and mobile app increased 7 percent in the latest quarter compared with 17 percent a year earlier. -Reuters