Delivering a World-Class Experience on the Spark Driver Platform

By Nav Chadha , Vice President, Walmart On-Demand Delivery

Editor’s note: As of Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Identity Verification has been rolled out nationwide, and we are seeing positive results and feedback so far.

Over the last five years, the Spark Driver platform has transformed. There are now hundreds of thousands of drivers who make millions of deliveries to customers nationwide. But they all do it for one reason: opportunity.

Drivers from all walks of life are choosing the Spark Driver platform because of the flexibility and earning opportunities it provides. One driver in Chattanooga, Tennessee, used earnings from the Spark Driver platform to pay for nursing school, while another is a mom who drives because of the flexibility it gives her to spend more time with her kids. People are at the heart of the platform, and I'm incredibly proud of how the Spark Driver platform is giving people the freedom to earn how they want, when they want through delivery.

Ensuring the integrity of the Spark Driver platform has been a priority from the very beginning. As we’ve scaled, we’ve enhanced the driver experience by introducing new capabilities. I believe we’re constantly improving, and it’s important to note that the majority of drivers are using the platform in appropriate ways. We’ve taken a comprehensive approach – including making significant investments in our team, technology and processes to deliver an exceptional experience.

Here are just a few of the steps we’ve taken:

Identity verification

We take a comprehensive approach to ensuring drivers on the platform are who they say they are. For years, drivers have been required to pass a vetting process that includes a criminal background check and motor vehicle record review before they are onboarded to the platform. We also have a continuous monitoring program to ensure drivers remain eligible to use the platform.

We are rolling out a third-party identity verification tool that compares driver selfies to government-issued photo identification, which is intended to prevent unauthorized use of vetted driver accounts. This is a cutting-edge fraud prevention detection technology that surpasses traditional authentication methods. Early results and feedback have been positive, and the feature will be rolled out nationwide soon. We're also working on additional capabilities to further prevent account sharing and multiple device log-ins.

Avoiding scams

It’s important for drivers to be aware of potential scams from bad actors. We proactively communicate with drivers about how to avoid scams, including reminders that drivers should never share their user I.D. or password with others or provide this information to anyone calling and claiming to be from the Spark Driver platform. We also encourage regularly changing passwords. Selling or sharing accounts is against the Spark Driver platform terms of use, and we deactivate drivers who are confirmed to be violating the terms of use in this way.

Creating a fair and transparent offer experience

We have several capabilities to ensure offers are distributed fairly and with transparency to give drivers the greatest opportunities to earn. Offers include details like estimated earnings, pick-up location, number of orders, approximate distance from the driver’s location and expected delivery time in the offer card so drivers have the information they need to choose which offers they’d like to accept. We’re also giving drivers more visibility into where offers are available across zones.

We’ve built a robust bot prevention system to detect and prevent third-party software bots. This is an industry problem we take very seriously. Although it takes an ongoing effort to prevent the use of bots, our model has enabled us to significantly reduce the use of bots on the Spark Driver platform and we have a dedicated task force that monitors and enhances our bot prevention measures.

Order assurance

Customers and other businesses rely on drivers to deliver all of the items that are ordered with quality, and on time. We’re continuing to grow the platform’s suite of integrated fraud prevention tools to ensure safe, secure and timely delivery. These include tools to ensure packages are delivered to the correct address, prevent drivers from falsely marking they picked up orders, confirm proof of delivery and maintain chain of custody requirements through pickup and delivery. Drivers who engage in criminal or fraudulent activities are removed from the platform.

Listening to feedback

Driver and customer feedback is core to how we're enhancing the platform. Through the Spark Driver platform driver support team, we strive to make it easy for drivers to share their concerns. When we receive a report of potentially fraudulent activity on the platform, our team investigates and takes the appropriate action, which can include deactivating driver accounts. And to heighten our focus on fraud prevention, we recently introduced a dedicated email address for drivers to share their concerns specific to fraud. We encourage customers to reach out to Walmart Customer Care so we can work with them to address any concerns.

As the Spark Driver platform continues to grow, we remain committed to trust, transparency and the integrity of the platform to deliver the best driver, customer and client experience. We’ll continue to introduce new features and innovate to enhance the platform for drivers, customers and other businesses.

Original article can be viewed here.