Walmart changes the grocery shopping game with new pickup service in Columbia

Grocery shopping just got a whole lot easier for Columbia shoppers. Walmart, the largest grocer in the U.S., will be launching its online grocery pickup service at four Columbia-area stores starting May 19. The free service enables customers to order groceries online and pick them up at their local Walmart store without even leaving their cars.

“At Walmart, we have always been known for saving our customers money and, with services like grocery pickup, we are also saving them valuable time,” said Phillip Keene, Walmart communications director. “Our customers have told us that grocery pick up is a game changer. They are now able to complete their grocery shopping in a matter of minutes – between errands or on their way home from an after school activity – without even unbuckling their seat belts.”

Walmart’s grocery pickup service features 30,000 items with more than 90 percent of customers choosing to add fresh meat, dairy or produce to their baskets. Other top items selected by grocery pickup shoppers include after school snacks, diapers and large dog food bags. In the Columbia-area stores, Walmart also offers regional brands and items for pickup as well. All items are priced at the same low prices customers find in their local Walmart store.

How it Works

• Order and Choose a Pickup Time: Customers visit walmart.com/grocery online or through the Walmart Grocery mobile app, enter their zip codes to select a local store and begin creating their shopping lists. During checkout, they select a time to pick up their orders.
• Personal Grocery Shoppers Fill the Basket: Highly-trained personal shoppers carefully select the freshest produce, meats and other items each customer requested.
• Pick Up and Go: Once a customer arrives at the pickup location, there will be reserved parking spaces marked in orange, and a designated number to call to alert an associate. An associate will quickly retrieve the prepared order and load it into the customer’s car.

Quality Guaranteed

Walmart always guarantees the quality of the food being picked up or purchased in store through its Freshness Guarantee for meat and produce. If customers are unsatisfied with an item, they simply bring back the receipt for a full refund.

Local Stores

Walmart’s Online Grocery service will be available at the following Columbia-area stores starting Thursday, May 19:

• Lexington: Walmart Supercenter, 5556 Sunset Boulevard
• Lexington: Walmart Supercenter, 1780 S Lake Drive
• Columbia: Walmart Supercenter, 10060 Two Notch Road
• Columbia: Walmart Supercenter, 1326 Bush River Road

Making Shopping Even Easier

Walmart’s Online Grocery service is one of many ways Walmart is using technology to create a better shopping experience for its customers. Another tool is the Walmart mobile app which is used by more than twenty million customers monthly* and ranks among the top three retail apps in the Google and Apple app stores. The app enhances the shopping experience in Walmart stores with features including refilling pharmacy prescriptions, finding an item’s store location and Walmart Pay, a safe, easy and convenient way for customers to pay with their smartphones in Walmart stores (available nationwide this summer).

*According to comScore Data