# Amazon's plan to beat Walmart at everyday shopping

> Project Mercury aims to build 1,000+ same-day delivery centers by 2031, bringing inventory within 10 miles of most Americans.
- Title: Amazon's plan to beat Walmart at everyday shopping | Shortify
- Summary: Project Mercury aims to build 1,000+ same-day delivery centers by 2031, bringing inventory within 10 miles of most Americans. Amazon is building over 1,000…
- Keywords: amazon, project mercury, walmart, same-day delivery, fulfillment centers, groceries, retail, prime, doug herrington, udit madan, project kobe, orbital
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/amazon-plans-1000-same-day-fulfillment-centers-challenge-walmart-2026-9
- Author: Eugene Kim
- Published: 2026-09-16T09:00:01.276+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: amazon, project mercury, walmart, same-day delivery, fulfillment centers, groceries, retail, prime, doug herrington, udit madan, project kobe, orbital
## Amazon's massive delivery expansion
Project Mercury plans to grow Amazon's same-day fulfillment network from 85 facilities today to over 1,000 by 2031. The multi-billion dollar initiative targets Walmart's dominance in everyday shopping.
## Getting dramatically closer to customers
Amazon will place fulfillment centers within 10 miles of 80% of Prime subscribers by 2031. Currently, these facilities sit about 90 minutes away from customers.

> The project fundamentally redesigns this network around shorter distances.
## Challenging Walmart's biggest advantage
Walmart has 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a store, with 95% of households able to get three-hour delivery. Amazon needs physical proximity to compete for groceries and essentials.
## The Orbital system speeds things up
Amazon plans to use smaller 100,000-square-foot Orbital facilities that process 75,000 units daily. Each costs about $48.4 million to build, helping accelerate the expansion.
## Same-day centers will dominate volume
Internal projections show these facilities handling 28% of Amazon-fulfilled orders by 2029 and 50% by 2035. Most packages will arrive within a five-hour window.
## The economics of Project Mercury
Amazon budgeted $6.8 billion for US capacity in 2026-2027. The company estimates $7.1 billion in economic value over 10 years, turning cash-flow positive by 2030.
## Faster delivery makes people buy more
Amazon believes speed increases purchase probability and brings customers back sooner. The $150 billion grocery business depends on competing with local stores on convenience.

> When we speed up the service, the probability that somebody buys a product from us goes up.
## Key takeaway

Amazon is building over 1,000 same-day fulfillment centers to compete with Walmart's physical proximity advantage in groceries and everyday essentials.