If you’ve been in a Walmart lately, you’ve undoubtedly seen Walmart employees poring over lists on handheld electronic devices and pushing carts loaded with bins full of groceries and other items. Welcome to Walmart Spark, Walmart’s home delivery service. And guess what? It’s a gig driving job.
At the end of 2023, there were more than 4,600 Walmarts in the US. However, your goal in becoming a Walmart Spark driver is to narrow your focus to a few strategically located Walmart stores. This strategy reduces driving time, distance, and wear and tear on your car. You can also earn good money—higher than almost every gig driving job, except for the top rideshare companies.
Check out this recent Gridwise blog post, How to Make $1000 a Week with Walmart Spark, to get on the road to greater earnings. You can also be more profitable by downloading the Gridwise app. It’s free and has features invaluable to all drivers.
Here's what we cover:
What is a Walmart Spark driver?
Like so many other societal changes in the last few years, you can point to the pandemic as the cause. Even though grocery delivery services were around before the pandemic, they gained lots of traction in Q1 and Q2 2020 as we all hunkered down. Walmart Spark was no different.
The industry’s growth didn’t stop with the end of the pandemic. In early 2023, Zion Market Research released a study in which they forecasted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% for the grocery delivery business, extending to 2030.
Walmart had already developed a proprietary service in 2018 called Walmart Spark. They used a firm, Delivery Drivers, Inc. (DDI), to administrate the program. Walmart Spark drivers worked for DDI. There was also a relationship with DoorDash to handle some of the deliveries. In August 2022, Walmart ended its relationship with DoorDash and purchased DDI, making Walmart Spark an in-house operation.
Walmart Spark drivers are gig drivers. They receive and accept orders through the Walmart Spark driver app, directing them to a Walmart store to pick up a delivery. In most cases, a Walmart employee has selected the items; the driver needs only to load the items into their car and deliver them to the customer’s residence.
Is being a Walmart Spark driver for you?
In deciding if Walmart Spark can be truly profitable, you should determine if you’re reasonably close to a cluster of Walmarts.
What is meant by a cluster of Walmarts? Very simply, how many Walmarts surround you within a few minutes’ drive? For instance, in a seven-square-mile area in the California suburban cities of Upland and Ontario (about 35 miles east of Los Angeles), there is a Walmart Supercenter, a Neighborhood Walmart, and a standard Walmart. The farthest distance between any of these stores is 4.4 miles, making this area heaven for a Walmart Spark driver. Three Walmarts in an area means that a Spark driver will stay busy. It is unlikely they will receive an order from a Walmart farther away. The result is that they drive less and spend less time traveling back to their home territory.
If you live in a densely populated suburb, there is a good chance of a similar network of Walmarts in your area. This is great because you can draw from every one of them. If you live in a more rural area, you’ll need to drive farther to make deliveries.
Brenda Brown, a Walmart Spark driver in Las Cruces, NM, was highlighted in a 2020 article in Business Insider, telling how she made $113,000 in one year as a Walmart Spark driver. It wasn’t easy. Brenda says she averaged 80 hours a week and drove 48,000 miles making those deliveries. Her earnings came out to about $25 an hour, not counting fuel costs and car wear and tear. You should also note that Las Cruces, where Brenda delivered for Walmart Spark, is a town of around 113,000 people on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. That’s a far cry from the suburbs of larger cities with many Walmarts.
There are a few other details to Brenda’s story. She claimed about $95 in tips for every $100 in Walmart Spark earnings. Brenda’s territory included three Walmart stores, the farthest ones being 14 miles apart, and she said she made the trip between them several times daily.
How to become a Walmart Spark delivery driver
Start with the Walmart Spark website. The requirements for Spark are that you have
- a registered vehicle
- a valid driver’s license showing you’re at least 18 years old
- a valid Social Security number
- a smartphone
- a clean background record
You complete the application online, which takes about a week for processing, and then you get a return email. The return email comes from Walmart, but also look at anything from DDI, because they still administer the program internally. Upon being hired, you become a contract employee. You go through an orientation program and download the Walmart Spark app.
You can check this FAQ page on the Walmart Spark site to answer additional questions.
How much do Walmart Spark drivers make?
What do Walmart Spark drivers get paid? Spark delivery drivers receive pay on a per-delivery basis, depending on how many deliveries they make per hour. Every delivery shows your approximate earnings once you have completed it.
Take a look at this chart recently published in the Gridwise blog, How to Make $1000 a Week with Walmart Spark.
| Year | Average Gross Earnings Per Work Hour | Average Gross Earnings Per Week |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $19.48 | $353.2 |
| 2023 | $17.81 | $322.5 |
As we have discussed before, if you find a region where several Walmart stores are clustered in a small area, you can make more and keep your expenses relatively low for a gig driver. The above are also based on averages and largely depend on the individual and orders.
Walmart Spark drivers can also earn more money through incentives, surges, and referral programs for referring other drivers. These offers are constantly changing, so check your app for the current incentives. Also, you get to keep 100% of your tips, whether they’re in cash or through the app.
When does Walmart Spark pay? Earnings are electronically deposited into your bank account each Friday.
Perks and considerations for being a Spark driver for Walmart
Walmart Spark offers gig drivers some unique benefits, but there are also challenges to consider. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons to help you decide if Spark is the right gig for you.
Perks
- Potential for High Earnings
With access to a busy market and a willingness to work consistently, you can earn good money as a Walmart Spark driver. Spark pays based on distance and order size, so well-planned schedules can pay off. - Reduced Wear and Tear on Your Car
If you’re in an area with several Walmart stores, you’ll be able to pick up more orders without driving excessive miles. This can save on gas, maintenance, and overall vehicle depreciation. - No Passengers to Deal With
Unlike rideshare driving, you won’t have to entertain passengers or keep your car immaculate for customer satisfaction. Spark drivers only interact with store employees during pickups, making the work more low-maintenance. - Flexible and Daytime Hours
Spark operates during Walmart store hours, meaning you won’t need to work late into the night like many rideshare drivers. You can maintain a better work-life balance by working mostly during the day, with evenings free for other gigs if you choose. - Perfect Complement to Other Gigs
Since peak times for Spark deliveries often occur during the day, you can still take advantage of evening peak hours for other gig platforms like rideshare or food delivery.
Considerations
- Driver Saturation and Long Waitlists
Due to its popularity, many areas have long waitlists to become a Spark driver. Some drivers report waiting months before they can even start, making it a slow process in saturated markets. However, you can multi-app on another platform until you make it through. - High Demand Can Lead to Long Wait Times
Spark’s popularity can sometimes outpace the store’s ability to fulfill orders quickly. - Bot Concerns in Competitive Markets
Reports from drivers, including those on Reddit, indicate that some drivers are using bots to grab the most profitable offers quickly. Walmart has stated that bot usage violates their terms, and drivers caught using them face deactivation. - Contract Work Comes with Financial Responsibility
Like all gig jobs, you’re considered a contractor, which means you’re responsible for your own taxes, insurance, and benefits. Be sure to track your expenses and set aside funds for tax payments.
By weighing these factors, you can decide if Walmart Spark is a gig that fits your driving strategy and financial goals.
How Gridwise can help
Gridwise is dedicated and committed to making all gig drivers as successful as possible, and Walmart Spark drivers are no different. The Gridwise mileage tracker is the best mileage tracker app for Walmart Spark drivers, saving you hundreds and often thousands of dollars in taxes at the end of the year.
If you multi-app, like many other drivers, you can link all your apps to the Gridwise platform. There are invaluable tools such as Where to Drive and When to Drive. You can see these features and more when downloading the Gridwise app for free. You can also track earnings and determine the best driving times and places, all for free!
Try the Gridwise app today to start driving smarter.
And have fun out there!
Check out these Gridwise articles to learn about Walmart Spark opportunities:
