Walmart CEO John Furner jabs Costco and Amazon with $120 membership bundle

Walmart CEO John Furner used a Tuesday announcement to take a direct shot at Amazon and Costco, unveiling a $120-per-year membership bundle that combines Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus. That price undercuts both Amazon Prime's $139 annual fee and Costco's $130 Executive membership, the two benchmarks Furner name-checked in his statement. "Consider what people may be paying today: $139 for a retail membership with delivery. $130 for a warehouse club," he said, pointing to the gap his new bundle fills.

The bundle means existing Sam's Club Plus members now get Walmart Plus included, while Walmart Plus members can add the premium club membership for an extra $22. The headline perk for both tiers is delivery speed: orders fulfilled from stores and clubs in as little as 30 minutes, with some arriving in under 10. That positions the bundle as less a discount play and more a bet on convenience as the deciding factor in the membership wars.

Walmart has been steadily expanding membership perks that overlap with its two biggest rivals, including streaming entertainment, pharmacy services, and partner deals. The new bundle is the latest escalation, and it lands as Walmart pushes its delivery operation to compete with Amazon's logistics machine and Costco's in-club experience. Mizuho analyst David Bellinger called the offering "another signal of WMT pushing more value into its overall ecosystem, and highlighting its rapid delivery capabilities."

The numbers behind the battle are striking. Walmart does not disclose membership counts or fee revenue, but Mizuho estimates roughly 25 million Walmart Plus members and 30 million Sam's Club members, with about 10% overlap between the two. That overlap is the key to the bundle: it gives Walmart a cheap way to convert existing Walmart Plus shoppers into Sam's Club members and vice versa, deepening loyalty without spending on new customer acquisition.

Compare that to the scale of its rivals. Costco reported more than 150 million membership cardholders globally, and Amazon is estimated to have more than 220 million Prime members. Walmart's combined estimated base of roughly 55 million across the two programs is smaller, but the bundle is designed to make each membership stickier and more valuable, potentially closing the gap over time.

For executives watching the retail landscape, the move signals that membership programs are no longer just about free shipping or bulk discounts. They are becoming the operating system for a retailer's entire ecosystem, tying together delivery, media, pharmacy, and in-store traffic. Walmart's willingness to bundle two premium tiers at a discount suggests it is prioritizing ecosystem engagement over near-term membership fee revenue, a trade-off that could pressure rivals to respond with their own bundles or perks.

The delivery angle is the sharpest edge. Walmart's promise of 30-minute delivery from stores and clubs, with some orders arriving in under 10 minutes, directly challenges Amazon's Prime delivery speeds and Costco's same-day options. For decision-makers, the takeaway is that speed is becoming a commodity, and the winner will be the retailer that can bundle speed with the broadest range of products and services at the lowest total cost.

The strategic stakes extend beyond the three giants. Grocers, discount retailers, and even delivery platforms are watching to see whether Walmart's bundle forces a new round of membership consolidation. If Walmart can convert its existing shoppers into dual members at a 10% overlap rate, the economics of its delivery network improve, and the pressure on competitors to match its value proposition intensifies. For now, the opening salvo is clear: $120 for two memberships, and a direct challenge to the pricing assumptions that have defined the membership economy.