Retail giant Walmart has announced it is introducing parcel stations to speed up home delivery in the US.
In a blog post, Jennifer McKeehan, Senior Vice President, Transportation and Delivery, Walmart U.S. said the in-store stations will operate like a mini post office that receives and delivers packages.
“For customers, parcel stations give them more time to place online orders on a greater assortment of merchandise for Next Day Delivery. For associates, we’re making it easier and more efficient to distribute online orders from stores. Collectively, the entire process builds density to lower the cost of delivery, which we can reinvest back into the customer experience,” she added.
Currently, the firm has over 4,000 stores operating as delivery hubs, fulfilling and delivering a variety of different order types. Packages originate in Walmart’s fulfillment centres and move to a sortation center or directly to stores, where they are then delivered to a customer’s home using its last-mile delivery network.
The company said it plans to have over 40 parcel stations in stores by the end of the year before expanding the capability to other locations next year.
It follows the decision, in September, to add a new late-night Express Delivery service which targets customers’ last-minute needs. Further enhancing its On-Demand Delivery options, the service comes with a Live Shopper feature that enables real-time text communication with a personal shopper. This allows users to discuss substitutions or add items last minute.
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