Walmart expands home delivery in more than 100 US cities to take on Amazon

Walmart Inc will expand its grocery home delivery services to more than 100 metro areas this year from an existing six cities as the retailer steps up a fight against rival Amazon.com Inc.

Walmart said on Wednesday the service would be rolled out to more than 40 percent of U.S. households by the end of the year. Deliveries will cost $9.95 with a minimum $30 order and companies like Uber Technologies Inc will provide transport. Other delivery companies will be added later this year.

"We will be pretty aggressive with it," said Tom Ward, vice president of digital operations on a call with reporters.

The move will complement Walmart's rollout of curbside grocery pickup, which is currently available in 1,200 stores and will be added to a 1,000 more stores this year. It also allows Walmart to compete with Amazon's two-hour Prime Now service for shoppers of its loyalty program.