Walmart's bid to catch Amazon Prime seen as uphill fight

Boston

WAL-MART Stores, Inc's planned competitor to the Amazon Prime service will have a price advantage, but catching up with its e-commerce rival won't be easy, say analysts.

Walmart announced plans on Wednesday to give online customers unlimited free shipping for US$50 a year, half the cost of Prime.

What it lacks is Amazon.com Inc's speed of delivery, along with the bevy of other perks that come with a Prime account.

"Prime is about so much more than shipping," Matt Nemer, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co, said in a report on Thursday. It offers digital music, e-books, TV shows, photo storage and other benefits, helping keep customers loyal. And Walmart is late to the party, he added. "Frankly, we'r…