Got groceries? Wal-Mart testing home delivery

Associated Press ^ | Saturday April 23, 2011 | AP

[pyx]

Wal-Mart tests online grocery sales, home delivery in San Jose, aims to compete with Amazon

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Saturday that it is testing home grocery delivery in San Jose, Calif., as the world's largest retailer ratchets up competition with online retailer Amazon.com Inc.

With the new "Walmart To Go," customers can order up groceries, health and beauty products such as soap, shampoo and over-the-counter medicines, and household supplies like paper towels and laundry detergent from the company's website. Wal-Mart will then drive the goods over to customers' homes at their time of choice.

[pyx]

With food shortages, it's quite interesting to see the world's largest retailer planning home delivery of food.

[Red_Devil 232]

I get home delivery from Wal-Mart all the time.

[pyx]

On the WalMart Website there are suggested items.

I, for one, choose to grow my own. YMMV.

[KoRn]

Seems like an interesting idea. If gasoline prices stay as high as they are, their margin is gonna suck, or it’s gonna cost a shitload.

[bigheadfred]

Hmmm..The People of Walmart bad for their image???....

[UCANSEE2]

Well, the profit margin is good because Gasoline and Diesel Fuel are SO CHEAP. (/s)

[RobertClark]

Yeah, but the real question is: Will they accept EBT? We wouldn’t want to unfairly exclude the ghetto from this fine service. </sarc>

[Jewels1091]

Home delivery is not a new idea, there are alot of grocery delivery in the bigger cities. I know when I had 3 small ones at home I could have used this a time or two...like when they all had chickenpox at once. The elderly could use this too.

[proudofthesouth]

Being single this would be nice to have at times. Like when I've been on crutches, recovering from surgery or too sick to go out and shop.

Other than the above I prefer to do it myself. I go early in the morning to my local Publix before it gets crowded and get it done and over with.

[BikerJoe]

Seems like an interesting idea.

What I find interesting is that this was one of the "Next Big Things" that failed miserably during the Dot-Com boom in the '90's.

Maybe they were just ahead of their time?

[blackdog]

I love the feelers extended in a free market.

WTG Walmart!

[Mark was here]

Yesterday we went to the local Sams Club because my wife wanted to see if her coffee was back in stock, it wasn't.

I ordered it from Amazon last night.

[mewykwistmas]

“What I find interesting is that this was one of the “Next Big Things” that failed miserably during the Dot-Com boom in the ‘90’s.”

Same thing, shipping surely isn’t any cheaper. Maybe shipping just a few items and even then in volume.

[Yardstick]

I order lots of stuff from eBay and Amazon. It’s super convenient. I keep the UPS guy pretty busy. Having stuff delivered actually seems like it would create big efficiencies to me. It means I’m not making a special trip in my vehicle to grab a few items. Instead it’s a guy with his fully loaded truck making the rounds.

[Shimmer1]

ping

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I LOVE home delivery. One of our great, wonderful supermarkets, RibaSmith, does it. One calls or e-mails in the order and it is at one’s doorsteps the next day. Payment by credit card, check, or cash is good.

Since supermarkets here in Panama also carry adult beverages, they can also be ordered.

Gosh I love it. The only thing missing is an automatic teller machine on the side of the truck. But then, they would probably get robbed. Now that I am thinking about it, since I need not go outside to accept the delivery, I don’t know if they advertise their store on the truck for security reasons. I will ask next time.

Talk about lazy.

I love it.

[BCrago66]

Grocery delivery is not a radical innovation. It’s been going on for over 75 years; only difference here is the national scale, and the interface is the Internet and not the telephone.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

P.S.

I do go personally to check out their ice creams and different chocolates...not necessarily in that order. While I’m there, I then scan the supermarket for new things they may have on their shelves.

[SVTCobra03]

It all depends on how carefully Wal-Mart investigates their delivery people. Your former gang-banger deliveryman might be casing out your residence for a future home invasion.

[TomGuy]

Talk about lazy.

Grocery shopping is about the only real thing that forces me to leave home every week or so. And Walmart is wayyyyyy on the other side of town -- a whole 4 miles. lol