Walmart never rests when it comes to providing memorable customer experiences. Its latest push involves its stores and online offerings focused on delivering that perfect customer experience – “Anytime, anywhere.”
By combining its digital and physical assets, Walmart spokesperson Ravi Jariwala told Loyalty 360 that helps customers achieve the goal of shopping and engaging with the brand the way they choose.
“We are constantly combining our digital and physical assets to really empower our customers and give them more convenience,” Jariwala said, “especially with the advances of ecommerce and rapid adoption of mobile and social offerings.”
Currently, Jariwala said Walmart is testing a smartphone app in about 200 stores for a program called Scan & Go. Using Scan & Go, Walmart customers scan bar codes on items they want to buy while they're shopping. The app — compatible with iPads, iPhones, and iPods — keeps track of their purchases, as well as the total cost. Customers then take their items to a self-checkout lane where they pay, instead of going through a traditional register. The app currently provides users with both an electronic receipt and a paper one. Users still pay in the usual manner, with cash or a credit card.
“This gives customers another convenient option,” Jariwala said. “It speeds up the overall transaction time and we’re finding customers really enjoy the convenience. They bag the items while they’re shopping. One of the elements built into this feature allows you to scan items and get a real-time total of all your items”
Jariwala said Walmart is planning to test an initiative later this year focused on digital lockers revolving around the Ship-to-Store option. With this test, when a customer’s item reaches Walmart, he or she receives an email saying that the item is in a specifically numbered locker and includes the code to unlock it.
With programs like Ship-to-Store, Site-to-Store, Pickup Today, and Scan & Go, Jariwala said Walmart addresses customer convenience through online, online and stores, and online, stores, and mobile. At a limited number of stores, Jariwala said online orders are being shipped directly to customers’ homes. In effect, these stores as acting as fulfillment centers, he said. By shipping online orders directly from stores, Walmart can reduce its transportation costs.
“It cost a lot of money to build physical assets,” Jariwala said. “We can build technology much faster. We’re using our stores in innovative ways.”
In 2011, Walmart implemented Pickup Today functionality whereby customers can order store items online and pick them up at their local Walmart the same day.
“It’s a program customers have responded to and we designed it because we think that’s how customers want to shop,” Jariwala said. “What prompted this is Walmart taking the customer-centric view. Now we give customers the chance to ship and pick up Walmart items when and where they want.”