Walmart has always been about low prices, so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that the retailer is using discounts as a means to drive traffic for its buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) grocery tests at stores in Denver, Huntsville, Phoenix and San Jose and its Pickup Grocery concept in Bentonville.
According to a report by The City Wire, Walmart has used targeted e-mails to attract new shoppers to the service. In Northwest Arkansas, Walmart recently offered consumers a $10 discount on their first order of $50 or more. According to the report, it had previously offered a $5 discount to the same prospects.
Walmart has been aggressively using price to put distance between itself and its competitors. According to Credit Suisse, the price gap between Walmart and its competitors on consumables grew to 17.9 percent in January, up from 17.2 percent in December and the one-year average of 16.2 percent.
Walmart spokesperson Betsy Harden told The City Wire that the company continues to learn what will work best with its customers. She said about 80 percent of orders in Denver are from repeat customers.
