Wal-Mart Takes On Amazon With Plan To Test $50-a-year Unlimited Shipping Service

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is taking on Amazon.com Inc. in a big way, with plans to test an unlimited shipping service for $50 a year, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. The world's biggest retailer will test the service on members this summer. The $50 price tag is about half the $99-a-year price that Amazon charges for its Amazon Prime service, which includes access to video streaming. Wal-Mart will offer its service by invitation only and it will initially apply to about a million items, which can be shipped in three days or less. Wal-Mart shares are up 0.6% in premarket trade, but are down 6% in the year so far, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 1.3%.