Dive Brief:
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said that on April 2 it’s ending free shipping in Canada for orders less than $50 Canadian ($39.41) and will charge $4.97 Canadian.
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Deliveries to a Wal-Mart “Grab & Go” locker or post office will still be free.
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The retailer cited rising costs for the move.
Dive Insight:
Canada poses something of a puzzle for U.S. retailers; the landscape is different there when it comes to expenses and logistics—Target, Best Buy, and others have scaled back or canceled operations there. Delivery in Canada can be especially tricky because of long distances between population centers.
“Shipping is very expensive in Canada,” Wal-Mart director of corporate affairs Alex Roberton told Bloomberg. “As a result of the rapid growth of Walmart.ca, we are now at a point where it is necessary to apply variable shipping fees, which we are working to do in a fair and democratic way.”