Walmart is using 4,000 of its stores as delivery hubs, and now it’s adding parcel stations to those hubs, according to its Senior Vice President of Transportation and Delivery in the US.
Jennifer McKeehan compared parcel stations to mini post offices in a corporate blog post on Walmart.com on Tuesday:
“Parcel stations help us move goods even faster to a customer’s home by using our Private Fleet to transport more online orders.
“Packages originate in our fulfillment centers and move to a sortation center or directly to stores, where they are then delivered to a customer’s home using our last-mile delivery network.
“In many ways you can think of a parcel station like a mini post office that receives and delivers packages.”
The program appears to be in its early days – McKeehan said Walmart will have over 40 parcel stations in stores by the end of the year, “with many operating now in time for the busy holiday shopping season.”
Parcel stations give customers more time to place online orders on a greater assortment of merchandise for Next Day Delivery, she said, also helping local businesses that use Walmart GoLocal to deliver goods to customers. The Walmart’s entire logistics process “builds density to lower the cost of delivery, which we can reinvest back into the customer experience.”
McKeehan said Walmart customers value home delivery as their preferred online fulfillment method. “Parcel stations are yet another step we’re taking to give them what they want and more, and we’re looking forward to hearing their feedback.”
Walmart stores have evolved to be more than just a place to shop, she said – “they’re now online fulfillment centers and delivery hubs, supported by an extensive transportation and last-mile delivery network.”
I recently went to order an item from Walmart to be picked up & they tried to charge me $6.99 pick-up fee! And And I have Walmart membership. I am sure Walmart decided to set a threshold on pickups in order to get people into the store. (I didn’t need the item that badly.)