Not to be outdone by Amazon’s promise of delivering Whole Foods groceries in two hours or less, Walmart is stepping up its own services. On Tuesday, April 10, Walmart announced that thanks to the company’s burgeoning army of personal shoppers and Postmates’ delivery network, “thousands of Charlotte, North Carolina, customers will be able to shop for and have fresh groceries delivered to their doorsteps.” So if you can’t make it out of the house to get the ingredients you need to make dinner, you don’t have to call your neighborhood pizza joint — just get Walmart to help.
“Customers are busy, they are managing jobs, soccer practice, dance lessons and social schedules; so we are on a mission to do more than keep a little extra money in their pockets,” Mark Ibbotson, executive vice president, Central Operations, Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “With the help of Postmates, we’re making grocery shopping even easier by bringing the everyday low prices of Walmart right to the front door of customers in Charlotte with more areas to be added soon.”
Walmart’s personal shoppers are required to complete a three-week-long training program so that they’re well-versed in the ways of picking the best and freshest produce, as well as cuts of meat, for their Online Grocery customers. So even though you can’t be there to be choosy in person, you’ll have a proxy who is just as particular.
“Both Walmart and Postmates strive to make the lives of our customers easier,” said Dan Mosher, senior vice president, merchant lead, Postmates. “With our growing fleet of 160,000 couriers, we are confident that we’ll be providing Walmart customers with the ultimate convenience.”
Placing an order promises to be quite simple. Folks need only to go online to the Walmart grocery website, or check out the existing Groceries Walmart Grocery App. You’ll be able to order (and have delivered) everything from fruits and vegetables to seafood to bakery items to “seasonal general merchandise.” When you place your order, just select a delivery window at checkout. Your Walmart personal shopper will grab the items from the stores, and a Postmates Fleet member will retrieve the order and bring it to your doorstep.
Same-day delivery is an option, but the service does come with a $10 fee and a $30 minimum order. That said, if you’re a first-time shopper, you can get your initial order delivered for free with a $50 minimum order and the code FRESHCAR. And if you don’t want to go into Walmart but also don’t need a door-to-door service, there’s an Online Grocery Pickup option that will let you drive to your neighborhood Walmart and have your groceries placed in your trunk. If that’s not convenience, what is?
