Shipt Veteran Rina Hurst Named VP of Walmart GoLocal

Walmart named ex-Shipt executive Rina Hurst as vice president of its GoLocal delivery platform.

Hurst will oversee the strategic direction, operations and general management of Walmart GoLocal as it continues its goal of bringing retailers same-day delivery, according to a Monday (Oct. 9) press release.

“The delivery space is constantly evolving, and I’m looking forward to working with the team to expand Walmart GoLocal’s capabilities and build new relationships with retailers looking for reliable and customizable local delivery solutions,” Hurst said in the release.

In her time with Shipt, Hurst oversaw strategic retail, brand and innovation partnerships, and she played a role in optimizing order volume, expanding the firm delivery footprint, and adding hundreds of retailers to the company’s marketplace and last-mile services, the release said.

Before joining Shipt, Hurst spent 10 years with Target in a range of merchandising and business partnership roles, according to the release.

“Rina brings extensive last-mile and delivery expertise and a track record of building strategic partnerships and accelerating growth,” Jennifer McKeehan, senior vice president of end-to-end delivery at Walmart U.S., said in the release.

She added that Hurst’s “expertise in retail delivery will be a strong complement to the team as we continue to innovate and expand how we serve leading retailers with delivery.”

Launched two years ago, Walmart GoLocal serves “third-party retailers across more than a dozen industries, enabling millions of deliveries for retailers and delivering across more than 18,000 U.S. ZIP codes,” the release said.

Hurst’s arrival at Walmart comes ahead of a holiday season that will see it and rival Amazon compete to capture consumer dollars, with Walmart placing a greater emphasis on its third-party marketplace.

Walmart debuted its third-party marketplace in 2009 in a bid to diversify its product selection and compete with Amazon’s seller ecosystem. While Walmart has made progress, it still falls short compared to Amazon in several aspects. Among them is the reach of these marketplaces.

Walmart focuses on the U.S., Canada and Mexico, limiting its presence. By contrast, Amazon’s seller network spans 22 countries, including markets like Australia, Germany, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, a geographical range that gives the company an edge in global market penetration.

For all PYMNTS retail coverage, subscribe to the daily Retail Newsletter.