Walmart Has A Giant Grocery Vending Machine For Online Order Pickup Now Image courtesy of Walmart
Back in November, Walmart began testing a giant orange vending machine that allowed online customers to pick up their orders without having to wait in line or talk to other people. Now, the company is reportedly testing a similar system, but for online grocery orders.
Business Insider reports that Walmart is testing the new self-serve grocery pickup kiosk — which looks much like the in-store kiosks but more rectangular — at a store in Oklahoma.
The system essentially combines the kiosk experience with the retailer’s already in-use grocery pickup service.
However, unlike the current system — which involves employees placing bags of groceries in customers’ cars when they park in certain parking spaces or a designated pickup line — after a customer places and pays for their groceries online, they drive to the 20-foot-by-80-foot kiosk, enter a code, and retrieve their groceries in about a minute.
In case you’re worried that the frozen pizza or milk you ordered might spoil, the kiosk comes equipped with both refrigerators and freezers.
While there isn’t an additional cost to use the kiosk, customers must spend at lease $30 per order to use the service, Business Insider reports.
It’s unclear how long the process takes from ordering online to picking up, or whether customers must place their orders before a certain time in the day to pickup at the kiosk. We’ve reached out to Walmart for more information.
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