By George Anderson
Wal-Mart is expanding its test of in-store pickup for products purchased on Walmart.com beyond the five original Dallas-area locations it started off with last month to an additional 23 Supercenters in the market beginning next week.
Consumers shopping on the retailer's Web site are able to select the store pickup option and choose the location when checking out online. Currently, consumers in the test area can pickup "movies, music, electronics, books, baby strollers, sporting goods and jewelry," according to a Dallas Morning News report.
"It's too early to comment on customer response at this point," said Amy Colella, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart.com. However, she said the test will decide whether this is "another value-added option for Wal-Mart customers to shop and purchase items."
Moderator's Comment: Where do you think Wal-Mart is headed with its in-store pickup test? Will it eventually have associates filling orders in the store from available stock in a similar fashion to some of the online grocery services?
The items currently eligible for in-store pickup are Internet-only items. The products purchased online by consumers are shipped to a store for pickup. - George Anderson - Moderator