Walmart expands into home services. The dealer today announced a new partnership with Angi (before Angie’s List), which will provide service professionals to Walmart customers in nearly 4,000 stores across all 50 states. When Walmart customers shop in-store or online, they can also book an Angi professional for any of 150 common home projects, including flooring, painting, fence installation, as well as smaller jobs like assembling furniture or installing a big screen TV.
In 2018, Walmart took the first further steps into the home services market when it partnered with Handy to sell home installation and assembly services in over 2,000 stores and later online. The idea was that when customers bought items like furniture, they could also immediately schedule an installation appointment to help them set up the new item in their home. The move followed competitor Amazon’s own entry into home services, which included start a dedicated home services hub on its retail website in 2015.
Shortly after Walmart announced its partnership with Handy, the company was acquired by Angi Home Services. And last year Handy co-founder Oisin Hanrahan became the CEO of the combined organization. It was expected that given the potential market, Walmart could also capitalize on this deal by later expanding its own deal to include Handy’s full range of home services.
Walmart announced today that Angi, not Handy, will become its partner for home services. This allows the retailer to connect their customers to Angi’s network of over 250,000 professionals. As a result, Handy will no longer feature its brand on Walmart’s website, Walmart told TechCrunch. Instead, only Angi’s branding will be found both in store and online. This also builds on Angis’ rebranding and launch in 2021, when the company decided that “Angie’s List” no longer accurately described its offerings, as it was no longer just “a list,” but rather a website for customers to research , book, plan and pay for service professionals and other contractors.
Photo credit: Walmart
Compared to the cell phone partnership, Walmart’s new deal with Angi will include a much larger number of SKUs than the previous integration, which correlates with the larger number of services offered. Handy’s partnership primarily focused on installation and assembly services for smaller projects, like installing televisions or furniture, starting at $45 and $79, respectively. But the Angi partnership goes further and includes new and more complex services such as painting, flooring and fencing. And it’s working to expand into additional, complex services, too, says Walmart.
When asked, Walmart declined to share details about the financial nature of the partnership or its impact on revenue. For example, it would not disclose what kind of commission it might receive for the Angi services booked through its website. However, Walmart will be Angi’s first limited-time exclusive retailer to offer its services.
Photo credit: Walmart
Customers can book Angi’s services both online and in-store along with all eligible items, or through Angi’s dedicated landing page on Walmart.com, which will be live in mid-February. (The URL itself has yet to be finalized, we’re told). After purchase, Angi will contact you to coordinate the booking. For larger services, a dedicated project consultant will provide the client with a customized quote, find a professional and do the work to ensure the project is a success.
“We couldn’t be more excited to launch Angi with Walmart, a leading global retailer, as our first retail integration,” said Oisin Hanrahan, CEO of Angi, in a statement on the launch. “Since the pandemic began, the home has been the focus, and people in the US are doing more home improvement, maintenance and repair jobs, and they frequently turn to Walmart to find the tools and materials needed to get these projects started are. Things like beautifying a fun space by installing a new smart TV, painting a kid’s room for an addition to the family, and remodeling an outdoor space and adding a patio are now projects that Walmart customers can seamlessly complete with the help of an Angi professional as part of the Walmart shopping experience,” he said.
“Angi brings experience and highly rated professionals to our customers to help them complete tasks around the home,” added Darryl Spinks, senior director of retail services at Walmart. “We are very pleased to be able to offer our customers the convenience and simplicity of Angi’s services.”
