BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Just a few months into a test offering free pickup of groceries ordered online, Wal-Mart is expanding the practice this month.
Initially tested in 20 markets, the retailer will expand the service to eight additional cities before the end of April and add more locations throughout the year.
“We’ve continued to see more and more customers use it across the country each week,” said Michael Bender, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Wal-Mart Global eCommerce. “Customers tell us they’re excited about online grocery because they’re putting the time they’re saving back into meaningful parts of their lives.”
This month, the free grocery pickup will expand into Kansas City, Mo.; Boise, Idaho; Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.; Austin, Texas; Provo, Utah; Daphne, Ala.; and Charleston, S.C.
Wal-Mart also is doubling the number of store pickup locations in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta, where the service is already offered.
With the service, consumers “have the option of shopping whenever and wherever they want … putting them in control of the entire process, all the way down to when they pick up,” Bender said.
So far the test, which dates back to this past fall, has seen 90% of customers become repeat users. And 90% of the online baskets have included fresh grocery items such as dairy, produce or meat.
“That’s exciting because it means that our personal shoppers—associates who are carefully selected and highly trained to pick these foods as if they were choosing for their own families—must be working hard to get things right while strengthening the trust customers place in us to shop for them,” Bender said.
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