Wal-Mart customers in Denver are now able to place grocery orders online and then gather them at one of the retailers' locations in the city as part of the retailer's test operation Tech Crunch reported Wednesday.
"It's all about choice," Ravi Jariwala, director of public relations at Wal-Mart told Tech Crunch. "At this point, we're really trying to assess what our customers are gravitating toward, and the good news is that I don't think this is an either/or [situation]," Jariwala told Tech Crunch.
Wal-Mart calls customers when their orders are ready for pickup under a new initiative with Wal-Mart To Go.
Customers then call a phone number or input their order into a kiosk machine to notify staff they are there to pick up their groceries when they arrive to the store.
Customers then retrieve their groceries when parked at a designated pick-up parking place. Wal-Marts with drive-thru pharmacies will have groceries available through the pharmacy's window.
Those who forget to buy certain groceries online would be allowed to purchase them in person tech crunch reported. Other items they see and had no intention of buying could also be purchased Tech Crunch reported.
Fifty-five percent of shoppers surveyed indicated interest in the service for its convenience.
New employees are brought on and taught the workings of the service which began in 2007, and include picking up items and placing them in bags kept in the rear of stores in some instances cold Tech Crunch reported.
Wal-Mart has tried out a grocery delivery service in San Jose and San Francisco, it started in 2011. The service has seen over a thousand orders, and is growing its truck numbers to 10 from seven.
A same day delivery service began in Northern Virgina, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Jose, and San Francisco in October 2012.
