The retailer is testing the option in Arkansas with a facility that houses 10,000 items.

Online grocery shoppers in Arkansas can pick up their orders the same day from a location in Arkansas as part of a test launched by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. this week.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Monday opened its first “Walmart Pickup-Grocery” location in Bentonville, AR. The location carries around 10,000 items and offers same-day or scheduled grocery pickup from what amounts to a warehouse. Wal-Mart.com is No. 4 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Customers can visit Wal-Mart’s website, complete a grocery order, pay online, and fill in what time they want to pick their order up, be it same day or another date and time in the future.

“Once you get your pickup time, you’ll pull in and there will be a kiosk that greets the customer,” a Wal-Mart spokeswoman says. “You type in your name or your order number and it’ll direct you to your pickup spot. Within minutes, one of our associates will bring your order out to your car and place it into your car for you.”

Customers can pick up items ranging from meat and produce to beer and wine. Associates will pick produce for customers, something the company says is an added customer service bonus.“Our associates will show you your items before they put them in your car so if you’re not happy, they can pick up a replacement,” the spokeswoman says.

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Wal-Mart wouldn’t say how much it cost to build the facility but says there aren’t any plans for expansion into other markets yet.

“We know we’re going to be learning a lot throughout it and what our focus is here is listening to our customers as we get this thing up and running,” the spokeswoman says. “We just want to continue to test and learn.”

This isn’t Wal-Mart’s first foray into online grocery ordering.

The company began testing home grocery delivery in Denver in October of last year. In January, it expanded that test to include same-day pickup from stores, with customers selecting a time window to pick up their orders and then getting a call when they’re ready to be picked up.

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“(Walmart Pickup-Grocery) is somewhat similar where it’s an online grocery shopping experience and the customer can pick up at the store,” the spokeswoman said.

The main difference is the 15,000-square-foot facility is smaller than an average Wal-Mart location and functions as a fulfillment center just for this pilot. The facility has 30 workers. The average Wal-Mart SuperCenter location is 200,000 sq. ft. and the average smaller format Neighborhood Market store is 40,000 sq. ft.

Wal-Mart won’t say how big the average order size is thus far but says it will be closely looking at how shoppers use the service.

“This is something where, having never done this before, we’re learning how our customers want to shop at this location, whether it be a fill-in trip or a stock up trip.”

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Wal-Mart isn’t the first major retailer to offer curbside service. Last month, Sears Holdings Corp. announced customers who are enrolled in the company’s free loyalty program can exchange or return items without leaving their cars at Sears stores.

 

 

 

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