Over the last couple of years, Walmart stores have been testing grounds for all sorts of innovations to improve the shopping experience. From its Intelligent Retail Lab in New York to InHome Delivery in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Walmart says it is learning a lot about how it can use its physical assets to deliver new conveniences to customers.
Last week, Walmart opened a new Neighborhood Market in Coral Way, Florida, that offers a number of new technologies:
- Online Grocery Pickup – The retailer’s first grocery pickup location in this part of Miami can fulfill hundreds of orders per day. Customers will be able to order online and pick up their groceries without unbuckling their seatbelts.
- Same-Day Grocery Delivery – The retailer’s specially trained personal shoppers pick out produce and grocery items to be delivered right to customers’ doorsteps.
- Expanded Self-Checkout Options – Coral Way is the first location in Florida to offer this fast, efficient checkout experience. The retailer says it tested expanded self-checkout at a prototype store in Arkansas, and customers have enjoyed the convenience and speed. This store will offer large basket self-checkout lanes that give the customer the option to scan the groceries themselves or have a self-checkout host assist with the transaction.
- Check Out With Me – Associates can check customers out anywhere in the store using handheld store devices.
In addition to these services, the new store will have several of the conveniences Neighborhood Market shoppers enjoy across the country, including a pharmacy, full-service deli and a newly redesigned fresh produce department. The store will create about 100 new jobs.
