Local Walmart Shoppers Seem To Be Impressed With New Online Pickup Service

A new feature from Walmart has local shoppers excited to knock out their grocery list.

Over the weekend, I saw two Facebook friends raving about their recent Walmart shopping experiences. Their posts caught my eye because normally you see people complaining about Walmart on social media, but both friends were super excited about the new store pickup service, so I had to find out more.

The way it works is really simple:

1. You place your order online.
2. Walmart lets you know when your order is ready.
3. You pick up your order.

Best of all, the service doesn't cost anything extra, and to people who are limited when it comes to extra time, moms with fussy little ones—or if you simply hate waiting in long lines, this might be a service that you'll find useful.

Lafayette mom Joy Andrus says she found out about the service from a friend, and with three "VERY active kids" her grocery shopping situation is always a challenge.

I ordered and paid online yesterday and scheduled it to be picked up today between 8a-9a. I got a phone call and an email about 745 from my personal shopper saying my items were ready. I pulled up about 8:40 and called the number on the sign telling them which slot I was parked in and they were at my car loading it up 5 mins later. It was much easier to stay on budget because I didn't have the whole store to browse. I didn't have to wait in line while the kids fussed bc it was taking too long, grabbing stuff off the shelves. A HUGE PLUS is if you ask for a 32oz bag of cheese (bc it's cheaper than 2-16oz) and they don't have it, they will give you 2-16oz bags and THEY eat the difference. Same with brands. If I ask for great value brand and they don't have it, they will give me Name brand at no additional cost.

Just like Joy, Amy LeBlanc says she had a very positive experience at the Pinhook location of Walmart when she met her "personal shopper."

A friend in TX posted about it a while back so I immediately did some research to see if it was available here... found out that it wasn't yet, but signed up for the "waiting list" in hopes that it would be here soon. Then one day this week my friend Jandy in BB called me with what she called "something to change my life!" At first I thought it was too good to be true but after trying it, I'm SOLD! I absolutely HATE grocery shopping period, especially at Walmart. Even though I only have one kid and he's 4, taking him with me to the store is a chore and I cannot concentrate on anything..... Other major perks are that you can add to your cart through the app on your phone as you run out of things around the house (no more scribbling crap on a list!!), the TIME it saves (I was literally in and out of there in 5 min on a Saturday morning... this would be a 2 hour long ordeal normally to get everything, wait in checkout line, load in car, unload, save groceries etc.).... Also I totally agree on saving money because you are not browsing the entire store. Plus I think it makes planning meals easier because you can focus on exactly what you need...And shout out to my girl Ticheonia—the "personal shopper" girl who brought stuff to my car. She was super cool and NICE!! She went to shake my hand and I actually hugged her because I was so pumped!!! Oh another cool thing too is that you can check in when you're on your way and tell them what color car you drive and they track you through gps, so when I was driving up, she was literally waiting for me outside with all my stuff! IT's LIKE MAGIC IM TELLING YOU!!

This isn't just convenient for moms with fussy kids and limited time, as Joy pointed out that this is something she will be using for her father in New Orleans.

It would be amazing for the ppl who can't physically walk the store. I'm doing it for my dad next week in Nola bc he can't walk the store. So I'll buy his food online and he can pull up and they will load it for him.

Will this new service help curb some of the negative feedback that we often hear about the Walmart shopping experience? Is this something that other retailers will start offering as well?

Getting your own "personal shopper" is almost like the Uber version of shopping if you think about it—and if more positive experiences like what we saw from Joy and Amy start popping up online, we may see Walmart shift more of their focus (and parking spots) toward this new feature.

So far the only stores that I've seen people use for the service are Walmart on Pinhook, Ambassador in Lafayette as well as locations in Breaux Bridge, Pineville and New Iberia.

Get an updated list of Acadiana Walmart locations that offer the service by using the new feature on their website, and let us know about your experience using the new Online Pickup in the comments below!

[via Walmart]