Walmart adds in-store restaurants to US retail giant’s Express Delivery service with Subway up first
In a move that sees it lock horns with DoorDash and Uber Eats, Walmart reports that customers in select locations can now order Subway directly through the US retail giant’s app or Walmart.com and have their meal delivered in as little as 30 minutes or less, either on its own or alongside their Walmart Express Delivery order.
This marks Walmart’s first restaurant integration within Express Delivery as it looks to bring groceries, household essentials, fashion, prescriptions and restaurant meals together in one experience.
“The future of retail is about bringing more of customers’ everyday needs into a single, seamless experience,” says Tracy Poulliot, EVP eCommerce and Marketing, Walmart U.S. “Bringing Subway delivery into the Walmart app is another way we’re using our proximity to customers and scale to make everyday decisions simpler and everyday life a little easier.”
Subway is Walmart’s largest in-store restaurant tenant, with a relationship that began in 2004. Today, Subway restaurants inside Walmart serve millions of shared customers.
“Subway has always been focused on making freshly made, quality meals accessible to customers wherever they are," says Damien Harmon, President at Subway North America. “The integration of Subway delivery into the Walmart app and Walmart.com is a natural evolution of our 20-year relationship built on a shared commitment to value, freshness and everyday convenience."
The service is now live in select Walmart stores across Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, and will expand to approximately 1,400 locations by the end of the summer.
Bigger plans
In a LinkedIn post, Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, said: “Here’s the truth. Walmart has much bigger plans than delivering sandwhiches from Subway. Much bigger. According to multiple sources and my own research, Walmart is actually doing the following: it is going to utilise Walmart + to aggressively go after DoorDash and Uber Eats, and significantly undercut them on fees and pricing; it has signed deals with Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and a “large Mexican chain that specialises in burritos,” to deliver online orders via Walmart +; it is in active discussions with other quick service restaurants, and other businesses that leverage DoorDash and Uber Eats.”
He added: “Brian Niccol, the CEO of Starbucks, is on the board of directors at Walmart. I’ve stated in articles and posts that Amazon should partner with Starbucks to take over their supply chain management and logistics, and leverage AWS for technology. Niccol has had discussions about using Walmart + for deliveries, and partnering with Walmart on supply chain and technology opportunities.”
Ladd noted that Walmart is quietly shutting down GoLocal, and putting more focus on Walmart Spark, which has over one million drivers on the app. It is making a big move into restaurant delivery because of the advertising and marketing dollars this can generate from Walmart +. The more customers that sign up for Walmart +, the more money it will make.
Ladd concluded: “Restaurant deliveries will increase density and maximise vehicle utilization for Walmart +. DoorDash and Uber Eats are incredibly vulnerable. Walmart + has the scale to take significant market share away from both companies.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
On demand delivery will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
