Walmart U.S. delivered an improved omni-channel experience for customers, resulting in a comp sales increase of 3.6 percent, excluding fuel, which is the best comp performance in 10 years. Sales in eCommerce grew 40 percent for the year. We are becoming more digital in the way we work, and we are embracing new technologies to equip associates with tools to make them more productive. Physical stores have leveraged expenses for eight consecutive quarters, which is a key enabler of our price investment strategy – the productivity loop is working again. Our strategy is working, and we are gaining market share through a combination of strong in-store traffic, eCommerce sales growth and the expansion of grocery pickup and same-day delivery.
We are creating a digitally-connected shopping experience that removes friction for the customer. Grocery pickup and delivery continue to receive strong net promoter scores. We nearly doubled the number of pickup locations to more than 2,100, or about 69 percent of the population, and we are not finished. We also began to scale same-day grocery delivery, reaching nearly 800 stores, and we expect to double the number of stores that provide this service in fiscal year 2020. Additionally, we added more than 600 pickup towers in stores for online general merchandise orders, and we began testing other automated grocery dispensing solutions.
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Serving 69% Investments in eCommerce are delivering results as we have nearly doubled the size of eCommerce sales over the past two years. With a redesigned site experience on Walmart.com, the addition of more than 3,000 key brands and the value of free two-day shipping on millions of items, customers are increasingly choosing Walmart for their everyday digital shopping needs. We have made good progress on improving the metrics in our Customer Value Index, and our focus remains on improving repeat rates and margin mix in addition to mirroring inventory in our fulfillment centers.
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free two-day We remain committed to providing value to customers through price investments and private brands. Strong traffic, sales and productivity gains give us the flexibility to make strategic choices as we grow the business. We are using advanced analytics to identify categories where better price gaps are improving market share, and we have elevated the quality of our private brand assortment, including the launch of four new apparel brands.
