Web grocery orders set for NW delivery
Walmart Inc. now offers home delivery of online grocery orders to Northwest Arkansas. The service area includes Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale, according to a news release.
Shoppers may place orders through Walmart's website or mobile grocery app. During checkout, they can select a time for their orders to be delivered, within a one-hour window.
The same-day service costs $9.95 per delivery and is available on orders of $30 or more.
Walmart has struggled to find efficient means of delivering online grocery orders as it competes with other retailers for online grocery sales. In May, it ended its two-year delivery trials with ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft. Walmart now contracts with delivery startups like DoorDash and Postmates, and is testing a system developed in-house, called Spark Delivery, in select markets.
The retailer has said it plans to offer the service in more than 100 metropolitan areas, or about 800 stores, by year's end. That's about 40 percent of U.S. households, the company says.
Walmart began offering online grocery delivery in the Little Rock metropolitan area in late September.
-- Serenah McKay
Joint effort to start accelerator program
The Independent Community Bankers of America said Wednesday that it has partnered with the Venture Center in Little Rock to start the ICBA ThinkTech Accelerator, a community bank-focused financial-technology accelerator program.
Themes for the program include artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain, payments, advanced analytics and big data, regulatory compliance tools, cybersecurity, authentication, and streamlining customer experience.
Arkansas continues to make its mark on financial technology development through its accelerator programs, said Mike Preston, Arkansas Economic Development Commission executive director.
"Combining 'fintech' with community banking is the logical next step for the future of banking," Preston said.
A selection committee made up of ICBA employees and member bank executives will participate in the program, serving as mentors to early-stage companies vying for top spots in the selection process.
Selection committee members will serve key roles in selecting up to 10 candidates for the program. The Independent Community Bankers of America will invest in each accelerator participant.
Finalists will present their solutions to community banks at the ThinkTech showcase at the ICBA convention scheduled for March 18-22 in Nashville.
-- David Smith
In Arkansas Index, 9 stocks up, 6 down
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 0.61 to 425.11 Wednesday.
Nine stocks rose and six fell.
"Equities closed sharply higher to end the month of October despite a sell-off in the last hour of trading as the technology sector led stocks higher with investors looking for discounted valuations following the recent decline," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 32.5 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 11/01/2018