Three months after Target once again began testing curbside pickup with employees in the Minneapolis area, the perpetually-playing catchup retailer has expanded the program to actual customers. [More]
online orders
Amazon’s “Prime Wardrobe” Lets Customers Try Clothing Before Buying
By 6.20.17
One of the biggest problems with ordering clothing online is that you can’t actually try on items before you buy them. Amazon seems to think it has the answer in its new Prime Wardrobe offering that sends a box full of clothes for customers to try out before actually buying them… but you’ll still have to deal with the hassle of returning the items if they don’t work out. [More]
Walmart Has A Giant Grocery Vending Machine For Online Order Pickup Now
By 6.6.17
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. [More]
Walmart Employees Now Delivering Packages To Your Front Door
By 6.1.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
Two-day free shipping, online pickup discounts, grocery pickup — these are just a few ways in which Walmart has tried to up its online shopping game while staying competitive with rival Amazon. Today, the big box retailer rolled out its latest effort: sending associates to customers’ houses with orders in hand. [More]
Walmart Hopes To Win Over Millennials With This Giant Orange Vending Machine
By 11.11.16
For years now, Amazon has allowed customers to pickup their orders at bright yellow lockers located at convenience stores and other easy to access areas. Now, in what appears to be another attempt to be more like the e-commerce giant, Walmart has a vending machine where online customers can pickup their orders, you know without having to wait in line or talk to other people. [More]
Walmart, Home Depot Relying More On Physical Stores To Complete Online Orders
By 8.23.16
Walmart’s recent $3 billion acquisition of e-commerce company Jet.com may have been the retailer’s way of spurring its online business, but the largest retailer in the world has already been mingling its physical stores with its online presence. Much like fellow big box store, Home Depot, Walmart has increasingly used its vast network of stores to fulfill online purchases. [More]
As More Shoppers Go Online, Retailers Cut Back On In-Store Inventory
By 6.28.16
When you envision a Home Depot store, you probably picture rows of huge shelves packed to the rafters with boxes and pallets of products waiting to be unpacked. But with more shoppers buying things online, these shelves could start looking a lot different as the Depot and others rethink how much stuff they need to keep on hand.
[More]
Walmart Expands Grocery Pickup Option To Eight Additional Cities, Doubles Effort In Others
By 4.13.16
Consumers in eight additional cities will soon be able to order their groceries online and head to their local Walmart to pick them up later. Walmart announced Wednesday that it would expand its free online grocery pickup option — which officially launched in October — to Kansas City; Boise, ID; Richmond and Virginia Beach, VA; Austin; Provo, UT; Daphne, AL; and Charleston, SC, as well as double the number of stores that take part in the service in Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta. To use the service, customers simply place their orders online, pick a time to pick up their items, drive to the store, park in a designated spot, and call a special phone number. An associate then brings the goods straight to their trunk. [Walmart] [More]
This Year’s Avalanche Of Online Orders Won’t Be So Great For Retailers When Everyone Starts Returning Gifts
By 12.30.15
While many retailers were surely over the moon with an increase of online sales this year, that same burst in orders will have one effect that likely won’t make companies happy. Because when it comes time to return gifts purchased online, retailers are often on the hook to cover the costs involved. [More]
Macy’s Makes It Difficult For Me To Give Them Money Because My Last Name Is Slutsky
By 12.11.15
Meet Leonard Slutsky. He’s a Consumerist reader who had one desire: to give Macy’s money. But Macy’s wouldn’t accept his online order, simply because his last name is Slutsky. [More]
Walmart Officially Launching Online Grocery Pickup With Expansion To More Cities
By 9.29.15
After testing the concept for months, Walmart plans to offer more shoppers the opportunity to order their groceries online and pick them up at the store later. [More]
Woman Held Hostage Uses Online Pizza Hut Order To Send Messages Asking For Help
By 5.6.15
A woman who police say was being held hostage by her knife-wielding boyfriend, along with her three children, used the only method of communication she had available to ask for help: She added “911hostage help!” and “Please Help. Get 911 to me” to her online Pizza Hut order. [More]
Need To Change The Sears Order You Placed 15 Minutes Ago? Tough
By 3.5.13 — Updated: 3.6.13
Do you think there’s even a remote chance that you might need to change your Sears order after the fact? Then you should go to a physical store and place your order there. Heather was told that she needed to perform that bit of time travel if she wants to cancel her mattress order before two weeks have passed. She noticed a problem fifteen minutes after the order went through, but because the order had been placed, she can’t do a darn thing until after the proposed delivery date, March 15th. [More]
GameStop Offers To Ship Out-Of-Stock Item, Doesn’t Mention It Will Take 7-9 Days Instead Of 3
By 1.7.13
Joseph wanted to buy a PSVita, and went to GameStop to see whether they had one available. New or used, didn’t matter. They didn’t have any in stock, but told him that they could order one online for him, and it would arrive in three business days, with free delivery. That was fine by him, until he learned what he had actually bought: a refurbished Vita, yes, but one that would take as long as nine days to ship to his house. [More]
How Sears Drove Me Away To GameStop To Get Kinect
By 12.21.10
Bryan wanted to get his hands on the Kinect motion-sensor controller for the Xbox 360, and ordered it on Sears.com, expecting it to come well before Christmas. That was a week ago, and Bryan has a Kinect now, but no thanks to Sears, on which he gave up due to broken promises and poor customer service. [More]
Gamestop Suddenly Hates Me, But Doesn't Know Why
By 7.8.10
Lu seems to have annual run-ins with stubborn gaming retailers. Last year, a simple GameCrazy purchase racked up illicit fees and an apology from the chain’s district manager. This year, he writes that Gamestop decided to just deny an online purchase with no obvious problems. Why? Apparently Gamestop’s system just doesn’t like Lu. [More]
How To Cancel An Order You've Placed On Walmart.com
By 6.27.08
As we noted in this earlier post, it’s technically not possible to cancel an order after you’ve placed it on Wal-Mart’s website. A helpful reader says there are a couple of ways around this, although neither option will immediately free up any hold on your funds.
Walmart.com Holds $550 Hostage For PS3 Bundle It Won't Ship
By 6.26.08
Consumerist reader The Unicorn has $550 tied up in some strange Wal-Mart purgatory for a PlayStation 3 bundle that they won’t ship to her, even though it clearly states in their online terms that they won’t charge you for your order until it’s shipped. Her customer service queries are being met with content-free scripted CSR-bot responses. She writes, “Here’s the thing: don’t ever buy anything from Walmart, ever. I knew this, and ignored it, and now I’m paying the price.”
