Wal-Mart opts for free, faster shipping on necessities

NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is replacing a program that offered free shipping but had an annual fee with one that has a lower free shipping threshold and faster delivery as it hopes to answer Amazon’s powerful Prime membership success.
The retailer says it will reduce shipping time to two days on 2 million of its most popular items including essentials like diapers and pet food as well hot toys and Electronics. Wal-Mart’s average shipping time has been three to five days. Starting