Walmart shoppers will have plenty of helpers this holiday season
TETERBORO, N.J. —
Santa won’t be the only one with helpers this holiday season.
Walmart is staffing its stores with associates who can steer customers to the quickest checkout station, and even run to grab a forgotten item so customers don’t lose their place in line.
That’s just one element of Walmart’s plans to simplify this year’s holiday shopping experience, revealed Wednesday at the Walmart store here.
Walmart employees will help customers in self-checkout kiosks, donning yellow vests that make them easy to spot, chain officials say. And like its big-box peers Target and Toys R Us, the world’s biggest retailer is also bolstering the option to buy online, then pick up the purchase at the store.
"We're focusing now on an easy checkout experience, and we're also focusing on a seamless online and in-store experience,'' says Judith McKenna, chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. "The bottom line for this holiday is that we want to serve customers as they want to be served.''
A speedier checkout has been the top request of Walmart customers, McKenna says. A new holiday helper program will allow the opening of extra cash registers, if needed. They'll even have candy canes and stickers in hand.
This year, for the first time, each of the retailer’s stores will also have a pick-up department manager to assist customers who order online and come to the store to get their goods. Staffers in the pick-up area will also be equipped with handheld devices to more quickly get packages into customers hands and out the door.
"We recognize at the stores in particular that pickup is a key part of that experience,'' said McKenna, noting that the number of same day pickup orders during the holiday season is roughly five times the volume seen in a normal week. "What customers tell us is it's great to have things delivered to their door. ... but sometimes it's more convenient for them to choose the time that they're going to pick up and they don't have to worry about a parcel being left on their door step."
The hybrid approach — ordering online and picking up at the store — is a key way for more traditional retailers to capitalize on their network of stores and better compete with online behemoth Amazon. Customers still have the convenience of shopping online, but don’t have to wait for a delivery or worry about shipping costs.
It also can keep customers from wasting a trip to the store to buy an item, only to find that it's not there, Scott Bauer of consultancy PwC says.
"The buy online and pick up in-store model matches confidence that a product is in stock, with convenience of getting it quickly," he says.
This holiday season, Walmart will continue to increase the number of items available online, offer thousands of roll backs — reduced prices available for 90 days — and feature an array of exclusives including a Disney Princess Carriage and 3D Virtual Reality Drone.