With Amazon having only recently pulled forward of Walmart in well being and wellness, the latter is trying to regain its lead by increasing its presence within the house.

The retailer is including 18 extra Walmart Health facilities in Texas this 12 months alone, per a Wednesday (April 10) announcement, on prime of the present 4 areas within the state.

“We are excited to deepen Walmart Health’s presence in Texas beginning in April in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth,” David Carmouche, senior vice chairman of healthcare supply at Walmart, stated in a press release. “With the population of Texas continuing to grow, these Walmart Health centers will help address the demand for easy to access care for all seniors and their families.”

The firm operates these well being facilities, which provide a variety of well being providers, in six states, with 50 present areas.

In reality, healthcare is one space the place Walmart comes nearer to holding its floor towards Amazon for customers’ spending than different sectors, although Amazon’s market share continues to rise, in keeping with the most recent version of PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Whole Paycheck Report: New Consumer Spend Data Finds Amazon Way Ahead of Walmart.”

The examine estimates every of the 2 retailers’ market shares in numerous classes primarily based on their earnings experiences from Q1 2019 by way of This fall 2023, together with nationwide knowledge from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. Findings confirmed that, as of This fall 2023, Amazon held a 4.4% share of whole shopper spending, whereas Walmart held 3%.

Yet in healthcare, Amazon has solely just lately pulled forward of Walmart, capturing 6.6% versus Walmart’s 5.7%. Amazon is rising its share shortly, whereas Walmart’s share stays roughly flat. Just 1 / 4 earlier, Walmart had nonetheless been within the lead (5.9% versus 5.7%).

Indeed, at the same time as Walmart grows its healthcare enterprise, Amazon is doing the identical, aiming to leverage this vertical to not solely seize customers’ well being and wellness spending but in addition to drive synergies throughout different components of its enterprise similar to grocery. Andy Jassy, the eCommerce large’s CEO, spoke to those efforts in his 2023 Letter to Shareholders printed on Thursday (Apr. 11). 

“We’ve now created several important building blocks to help transform the customer health experience: Acute Care (via Amazon Clinic), Primary Care (via One Medical), and a Pharmacy service to buy whatever medication a patient may need,” Jassy wrote. “Because of our growing success, Amazon customers are now asking us to help them with all kinds of wellness and nutrition opportunities — which can be partially unlocked with some of our existing grocery building blocks, including Whole Foods Market or Amazon Fresh.”

The healthcare alternative is important, particularly in city and suburban areas, in keeping with the 2023 PYMNTS Intelligence examine “ConnectedEconomy™ Monthly Report: The Urban-Rural Health Divide Edition” which drew from a survey of practically 2,500 U.S. customers. The outcomes revealed that, as of a 12 months in the past, 62% of customers dwelling in city areas participated in healthcare-related actions, as did one in three customers in suburban locales, versus simply 23% of these in rural areas.