By Casey Hall
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Walmart said on Tuesday it had formed a strategic partnership with Meituan under which the Chinese firm has begun providing delivery services for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) goods and the U.S. company will be featured on its popular app.
The move will help Walmart accelerate its e-commerce business in China, which accounts for nearly half of its sales in the country, Walmart's China unit said in a Wechat post.
The partnership follows Walmart's sale of a stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD (NASDAQ:JD).com for $3.7 billion in August, allowing it to diversify beyond JD's logistics services.
Meituan is China's biggest food delivery company but also provides a host of other services that range from deliveries of other goods to bike-sharing and ticket booking.
It's the company most Chinese consumers turn to when they want a quick delivery of basic household items and Walmart will become more visible by being on the Meituan app, said Jason Yu, general manager at CTR Market Research.
Walmart last month reported that quarterly net sales in China, including sales from both Walmart and its members-only Sam's Club stores, surged 17% to $4.9 billion.
Penny-pinching Chinese consumers have led to low-cost and discounted products becoming the focus for shoppers and platforms alike. That's benefited Meituan which last month posted a 22.4% jump in third-quarter revenue to around 94 billion yuan ($12.9 billion).