MILTON — The U.S. Highway 90 Walmart will be one of two stores to begin offering grocery pickup service this week.
The online service, which began Tuesday, will allow customers to shop for groceries online and retrieve them via curbside pickup.
The grocery pickup service comes when major competing retail businesses like Target and Amazon.com have similar services available to consumers.
But Rob Rice, ecommerce field market coach for Walmart, said the goal is not to keep up with competitors but meet the needs of today’s customers.
“We had a similar service available in (United Kingdom) 14 years and we brought it over to the states about a year ago to resounding success,” he said. “This option gives customers more choice and convenience.”
Rice said the pickup service has already been launched at Walmart locations in Mobile and other locations in Alabama while receiving an “awesome response” from customers in those areas.
Rice said he expects the same from Milton and Pensacola.
So, how exactly does it work?
Customers can place their orders at Walmart.com/grocery and enter their ZIP code. A minimum purchase of $30 is required to participate for the pickup service, but there is no pickup fee.
More than 30,000 items are available through the service including fresh produce, meats, seafood, dairy, and bakery items along with health and beauty products, according to a Walmart press release.
During the online checkout, customers can choose a designated store for pickup and a time slot to retrieve their order. Once the order has been completed by a Walmart personal shopper, the customer will be notified by phone. A reserved retrieval location will be available near the store entrance in which an employee can load the order into the customer’s vehicle.
Grocery pick-up hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
Rice also said the grocery pick-up service has led to the hiring of at least 15 new associates at the Milton and Pensacola locations.
As for adding more pickup grocery service to the surrounding areas, Rice said Wal-Mart officials aim to make the service “available to as many customers as possible in a timely fashion.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton Wal-Mart to offer grocery pickup services