How I Use the Walmart Online Grocery Service (and why I love it)

When Walmart stopped their Price Matching, I was distraught. I had a fantastic system. I saved loads of money by tailoring my meals for the week to the current specials. Thought I'd never enjoy shopping that much again.

Then, I discovered their online grocery service. I live in Sahuarita, Arizona, and use the store at 2565 E Commerce Center Pl, Tucson, Arizona, 85706. My first-ever online order was January 5, 2018. I average about one pick-up per week. So, I've had considerable experience with the service.

How I Use It and Why I Love It

• Put items in my cart throughout the week:
  Say I'm cooking, and notice I'm low on butter. I pop onto my computer in the next room and put the item in my shopping cart. (Of course, I have my Walmart online grocery page bookmarked.)
• My regulars become ‘favorites’:
  When I search for an item, the one I want is usually right at top. It's remembering your buying history and marking your favorites. Of course, you can un-favorite something if you don't like it any more. The time savings between finding what I want on my computer versus on a physical store shelf is immense.
• Easy price/value comparisons:
  Suppose I'm buying something new. All the choices are on the same page, so it's easy to compare unit prices and find the best buy. Much easier than trying to locate a product you're never bought before in the supermarket. Much easier than trying to read the labels on the supermarket shelves.
• Low Price Guarantee:
  If the price goes lower from when I put it in my cart to when I pick it up at the store, I get the lowest price. The lower price is marked on my online receipt: (This was Thanksgiving—my son-in-law wanted a ham instead of a turkey!)
• Need to Fill Up Your Pantry?
  When I click to choose my pick-up time and date, I'm shown a page with items I commonly buy that aren't already in my cart. Usually, I hate things like this—but I frequently say ‘oh yeah, I need that too...’
• No problems getting the date and pick-up times I want:
  I've always been able to get within one hour of my desired time on my pick-up day. And, usually I get the exact time slot I want. There's a window of time (for my early morning pick-up, it's about 1:30AM) where I can add additional items to the same order.
• It's FREE:
  It's totally free, providing you're picking up at least $35 of groceries.
• Dedicated Parking Spaces:
  There are dedicated parking spaces for online grocery pickup. I've never had a single instance when a space was not available when I arrived.
• They bring the groceries out, and put them in your car:
  When I pull into the pick-up slot, I call the number on the sign to let them know I'm there. (Or, there's a Walmart app you can use.) Usually they're out in five minutes or less. They put the bags in the car. (I always help, but you certainly don't have to.)
  
  Considering the time it takes for in-store shopping to
  • park
  • go through the entire store, look for items, put them in your cart
  • wait in the check-out line
  • bag the groceries
  • pay
  • bring the groceries out to your car and put them in
  this is a MASSIVE time and energy savings.
• The ‘Personal Shoppers’ do a fantastic job:
  One time, I got a piece of produce that I felt was sub-par (maybe it was all that was available). All other times, I felt the person who selected my produce took as much care as I would in selecting it.
• Bonus treats:
  You often get pick-up ‘perks’, like a bottle of drinking water or a ‘goodie bag’ with lots of product samples.
• Nothing missing:
  I'm quite fastidious, so after I'm home and have unloaded all my groceries, I print out my receipt and check that I got everything I was supposed to get. Very rarely, an item is missing—in which case I call customer service and get an immediate credit.
• Shop for my father-in-law:
  He's over 80, and it's no longer safe for him to drive himself to the store. I get his list, and pick up his groceries at the same time that I pick up my own.
• Curb impulsive buying:
  If you're online shopping for particular items, you're never subjected to that box of doughnuts on the special display. Even if it does show up in a search, the picture on the screen isn't as inviting (to me, at least) as the actual product in the store. So, impulsive buying is curtailed.