The idea of having professional shoppers for people who can’t or don’t have time to leave their homes isn’t new.
After all, items from this retail behemoth are available on many delivery apps, most notably being the Walmart Instacart partnership.
Yet, Walmart’s team of personal shoppers has been an integral part of its empire for years.
However, though they might place orders for their customers and help with returns, they don’t deliver purchased goods.
Spark Delivery builds on this premise to help bring groceries and other goods directly to your door.
Table Of Contents
What is Spark Delivery?
Spark Delivery is a courier platform that allows independent drivers to deliver groceries and goods from Walmart to people’s homes.
Similar to Uber Eats, Amazon Flex, and other courier companies, Spark Delivery pairs contracting drivers with delivery orders.
In this case, the delivery orders are specifically for Walmart.
Using an app, you can place an order for groceries with Spark shipping.
The independent drivers act as third-party couriers to deliver your order quickly and effectively.
As an alternative, you can also order groceries using the DoorDash Walmart partnership.
Is Spark Delivery Owned by Walmart?
Walmart does not own Spark Delivery.
Instead, Spark Delivery is a third-party platform that provides delivery services between Walmart and its customers.
It operates from crowdsourcing and works together with Walmart and independent drivers to best benefit everyone.
How Does Walmart Spark Delivery Work?
Requesting a delivery through Walmart Spark Delivery is easy so long as you live in an area where the service is available.
Using the app, a third party will bring your groceries to you.
Unlike traditional courier platforms, you must be home to receive your packages.
Because the drivers are contractors, they cannot leave your packages on your front step or enter your home.
If you are not there, they will take the package away again.
How the Platform Works
Customers use the platform to request the delivery of their groceries.
They can select one or more items from Walmart and pay using a credit card.
The platform will then send a request for these items to the nearest Walmart.
A personal shopper will gather these items and set them aside for the delivery driver.
The platform will pair a delivery with a driver in your area.
The driver will pick up your packages and drop them off at your house.
These deliveries can take a longer time than other courier services, such as Uber Eats.
The standard assumption for delivery time is under three hours.
Though this might seem like a long wait, the delivery time will depend on how many items you want and the availability of a driver in your area.
Who Delivers the Groceries?
Spark drivers are independent contractors who are not employees of either Walmart or Spark Delivery.
You can become a Spark driver by signing up on drive4spark.com and passing the platform’s requirements.
All Spark drivers must be at least 21 years old, have an up-to-date driver’s license, and have valid automobile insurance.
They also must have had their license for at least one year before becoming a driver.
Spark drivers choose which deliveries they would like to make, meaning they can set their own schedule and earn money accordingly.
Because they act as contractors, their pay comes from the Spark Delivery platform.
They receive money, paid weekly, for each delivery they do, the amount of which depends on the distance driven and the order type.
Drivers can also create a delivery strategy by limiting their services to specific time slots.
For example, if they work multiple jobs, they can set up their Spark Delivery services for when they have available time.
They can choose to work during the day or night, as they wish.
Types of Deliveries Available
The types of deliveries available through Walmart’s Spark Delivery system are almost limitless.
Here are some of the deliveries available to you:
- Day
- Night
- Groceries
- Retail items
- Over-the-counter health care products
You can request nearly any item from a Walmart fulfillment center’s inventory for grocery delivery except for alcohol, firearms, and ammunition.
Spark Delivery Process
Once a customer downloads Spark Delivery from the app store, they must provide their address.
They can then choose the items they want from a list of Walmart’s products.
After placing their orders, the customer can then view the estimated time they will receive their package.
If they have direct deposit, they can pay the grocery delivery service immediately.
Spark drivers in the customer’s area will receive notification of the new order from the Spark Driver platform.
They can then choose to accept the delivery, or not.
Drivers can also choose a specific time slot to do the main of their deliveries, so if an order occurs outside of this time slot, they will not receive a notification.
If they choose to accept a delivery, they will get a link with the delivery details, including the address and the customer’s name.
The link also provides navigation assistance and route tracking for the Spark worker.
They will then perform pickup at the designated retailer and make the delivery within 2-3 hours of accepting the order.
As long as the customer is home, they can complete the delivery successfully.
A notification about the customer’s acceptance of the package and details about the payment will be given to the driver after a successful delivery.
How Much Does Spark Delivery Cost?
Each delivery from Spark Delivery will cost a Walmart customer $7.95.
If you don’t want to pay this amount every single time, you can choose a monthly or yearly payment option.
The cost for Spark Delivery per month is $12.95. If you choose to pay per year, the cost is $98.00.
If you regularly use Spark Delivery, the yearly payment option will be a cheaper alternative to the monthly or per delivery options.
Where is Spark Delivery Available?
Spark Delivery is available in most customer locations in metro areas as well as rural areas across the United States.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to get Walmart deliveries from your local store in your area.
Feel free to contact Spark Delivery to ensure the service is available in your area.
You can speak to a live agent at 1-866-699-5867 or visit the Spark Delivery website for more information.
Tipping on Spark Delivery Orders
Similar to other third-party courier platforms, you can tip Spark drivers through the Walmart Spark app.
Or, if you prefer, you can also hand them cash when they arrive to deliver your package.
You can even thank them with a gift card to show your appreciation.
Should You Tip Spark Delivery Drivers?
Though there is no requirement to tip your Spark Delivery driver to get your packages, it’s an available option and a nice thing to do.
Drivers who deliver their orders on time and provide excellent customer service deserve the courtesy of receiving a bonus.
Some drivers make as little as $10 an hour, so tipping can help them earn a living wage.
Tipping is also customary for services like these, so your driver might expect a few extra dollars.
How Much Should You Tip Walmart Drivers?
Typically, you should tip your Walmart driver anywhere between $5-$10.
Of course, the amount you give them will depend on how well they do their job and how difficult that job is.
For instance, if you live in a rural area and order a car’s worth of groceries from the Walmart in town, you might tip more than if you live right around the corner and only ordered a single item.
However, if you’re missing a few items or if your delivery experiences delays, you might not want to tip at all.
Do Walmart Delivery Drivers Know if You Tip?
If you tip through the app, your Delivery driver will be able to see how much.
However, some of the tips may go towards the vendor (in this case, Spark Delivery), instead of the driver.
If you want your driver to receive the whole tip, you may offer them cash or gift cards when they arrive at your door.
If you do not want to tip them, there is no obligation to do so.
Is Walmart’s Spark Delivery Legit?
Spark Delivery is a completely legitimate service that Walmart offers to its customers.
Similar to many other popular courier services, Spark Delivery uses third-party drivers as contractors for shipping your Walmart goods.
Though Spark Deliver and Walmart are not under the same brand, they work together to provide an easier way for rural or inconvenienced homeowners to get their groceries.
They also provide an easy solution for the average person to make more money on the side.
Anyone can become a Delivery driver as long as they are a reliable vehicle operator.
Drivers get paid with each successful delivery and are subject to terms that allow flexibility while also holding them to their duties.
Wrapping Up
We live in a time where shipping services are becoming more mainstream and integral to our shopping experience.
Walmart’s Spark Delivery offers a convenient way to get your groceries without having to stand in long lines, deal with large crowds, or drive long distances.
If you think Spark Delivery could help make your life easier, or if you’re interested in becoming a driver, check out the Spark Delivery site for more information!
Spark delivery is legit, however their metric system that they said would update daily, hasn’t updated frequently in about 3 months. This has been brought to their attention, however they continue to ignore the issue. This effects the drivers morale and pay by not being rewarded by seeing their metric improve on every round-robin offer. Also their pay is affected by not receiving better offers by having higher metrics.
Spark delivery is legit, however their metric system that they said would update daily, hasn’t updated frequently in about 3 months. This has been brought to their attention numerous times, however they continue to ignore the issue. This effects the drivers morale and pay by not being rewarded by seeing their metrics improve on every round-robin offer they accept. Also their pay is affected by not receiving better offers by having higher metrics
Spark delivery allows tip bait and switch and spark also inflates order price by adding tips that the customer never added and then takes away said tip after delivery of the groceries.
I’ve been keeping track and brought up these issues with spark but no one has replied.
Seems fraudulent and illegal.
I’m going to keep documenting for the next few weeks before taking to an attorney, attorney general, department of labor.
Can you pay for your groceries with EBT using Spark?
Sam’s Club also uses Spark drivers for their deliveries and I had the worst experience with a Spark driver this morning. He came to deliver my order at 7:20am this morning and I noticed him just standing in the road by my house not delivering my groceries but just standing around in the street. I finally jesters to him and he came to the door. He couldn’t speak a word of English and instead handed me his phone which had a message on it saying hi I’m your Sam’s delivery person. I shook my head okay and expected him to go to his car and get my order. Nope… just went back and walk around in the street. Finally I saw he was using his phone so I thought perhaps there was a problem with my order. Finally I look out and see someone else is with him and the are trying to jimmy their way into the car thru the window. Well so now it’s obvious he has locked himself out of his car !! Next time I check on him he and the other person were gone but his car was still at the end of my driveway, blocking it..by now I’m freaking out and ready to call the police…. It has been two and a half hours of this ordeal at this point. I go to get my phone and come back to my door; the car is now home and my order just haphazardly plopped on my doorstep. Almost three hours my order was out there and now my frozen items are getting soft and my whole experience with the spark delivery person was a total joke. He got almost a twenty dollar tip for this by the way. Needless to say, I have nothing nice to say about Spark at this moment!!