Walmart is giving away $98 memberships to moms — and it shows how desperate it is to boost its Amazon Prime rival

• Walmart is giving away $98 Walmart+ memberships to mothers who give birth to children in May.
• The retailer touted the promotion in an ad featuring Cardi B, Stephanie Beatriz, and Janelle James.
• This is the latest strategy Walmart is using to help its membership platform catch up to Amazon Prime.

Look out, mothers expecting to give birth in May: Walmart is looking to give you a free membership to Walmart+, normally worth $98 annually.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant announced this week that it is gifting 20,000 free Walmart+ memberships to moms who give births in hospitals nationwide in May, the month of Mother's Day. The giveaway, which is worth nearly $2 million, is in partnership with the Pampers Hospital Gift Program, which provides a gift bag for patients who have recently delivered a baby.

Walmart spokesperson Rachel Nipper told Insider "any hospital participating in the Pampers Hospital Gift Program can opt-in to the Walmart+ Pampers Hospital Gift," which on top of the Walmart+ membership includes a reusable fabric bag, a six-count Pampers Sensitive Wipes sample, and literature about newborns. Nipper did not immediately provide a response to an inquiry on how many hospitals participate in the gift program.

How parents can redeem the offer

"Moms who receive the Walmart+ membership in their Pampers Hospital Gift can refer to WMT+ QR code and personalized number provided in their gift package," Nipper said. "Once the QR code is scanned, recipients can enter the number provided on their flyer to redeem their year-long membership. The Walmart+ membership will last a year from activation."

To tout the giveaway, Walmart is running ads featuring singer and songwriter Cardi B, comedians and actresses Jenny Slate and Janelle James, and actress Stephanie Beatriz. Each person featured in the ads is a mother, and they share their tips on being a mom in the clips.

Walmart+ vs Amazon Prime

This is just the latest move Walmart has done to bolster Walmart+, the company's membership service that launched in 2020 in response to Amazon Prime.

During the holiday season in 2022, Walmart+ members had early Black Friday shopping deals. Those who sign up for the membership also get special deals on streaming service Paramount+, free delivery for online orders, and deals at participating gas stations.

Recently, Walmart+ members even had the chance to try a new Oreo flavor before it hit shelves nationwide.

Walmart does not publicly disclose how many members Walmart+ has. The latest estimate from research group Consumer Intelligence Research Partners is that the platform had roughly 11 million members as of July 2022 — far fewer than the estimated 168 million Amazon Prime members at the end of last year.