Amazon builds a shadow postal service in rural America

The retailer is investing $4 billion into its rural “last mile” network. Set to triple in size by the end of 2026, the network will deliver one billion additional packages annually, Amazon said in April. It added that an additional 4,000 small towns, cities, and rural communities will get same-day and next-day deliveries by the end of the year. But when Walmart launched GoLocal in 2021, a delivery service transporting goods from both its own stores and other retailers, it changed the game for rural e-commerce. With more than 90%...