After discontinuing its JetBlack concierge-based text-to-shop operation two years ago, Walmart is trying SMS shopping again. On the other side of the purchasing process, Walmart is expanding drone delivery.
In a blog post, Dominique Essig, vice president, conversational commerce, Store No8, Walmart’s corporate incubator, stated that Walmart is launching text-to-shop as a free service for customers on iOS and Android devices. It will connect directly to a shopper’s Walmart account. which retains usually ordered items. Consumers can use that list as a resource that makes it easy to text the items they want and add them to their carts. Text shoppers also have access to the full selection of Walmart’s products.
They can text a product designation, for example, “vacuums,” and Walmart will suggest products. Text shoppers can also pair a brand with a product type in a search if they have a specific label in mind. If the search doesn’t turn up anything they want to buy, shoppers can tap “view more options” to see additional products, which will lead to Walmart.com online. When done selecting products, consumers can text reorder to quickly review what they’ve selected as well as add frequently ordered items to the cart. They then can check out by text or by using the Walmart app.
Walmart, when shutting down JetBlack, which has an upscale cachet but was losing money amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized the effort the company put into the operation as a learning experience. The latest text shopping initiative demonstrates that the company learned enough to try again.
Walmart has also been gearing up drone delivery for a couple of years and, In May of this year, announced that it would be initiating a fledgling drone delivery program. Now it is introducing flighted drop-offs to stores in Florida, Texas and Arizona. The drone delivery expansion covers seven stores in metro Orlando and Tampa, 11 stores in metro Dallas-Fort Worth and four stores in metro Phoenix. A team of certified pilots, operating within FAA guidelines to safely manage flight operations, are in control of the drone flights, Walmart noted. Drones drop off items via cable drop at the safest location at a customer’s home, the retailer added, such as a front lawn or backyard or driveway.
“Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last-minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool,” said Vik Gopalakrishnan, vp, innovation & automation, Walmart U.S., in announcing the initiative’s expansion. “Being on the forefront of that innovation at Walmart is something we’re proud of. It may seem like a futuristic option, but it’s giving our customers what they’ve always wanted, and that’s time back to focus on what is most important to them.”
In a May blog post, David Guggina, senior vp of innovation and automation, Walmart U.S., maintained that the company, with its DroneUp partner, would expand the aerial delivery network to 34 sites by the end of this year, providing the potential to reach 4 million U.S. households in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Utah and Virginia. Guggina said the drone system gives Walmart the ability to deliver more than a million packages by air in a year. From 8 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., customers who patronize stores in the drone program can order from tens of thousands of eligible items for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes. For a fee of $3.99, customers can order items totaling up to 10 pounds for delivery
