Walmart Brings Curbside Pickup to 26 CA Stores

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is introducing its curbside pickup program this week at 26 stores in California, according to a published report in The Orange County Register, which noted that more than half of the locations were in Southern California. The rollout brings the total statewide number of stores offering the free service to 36.

Currently, more than 800 Walmart stores across the country provide curbside pickup of groceries ordered online, the newspaper reported, adding that the Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer has been gradually introducing the program, which debuted in 2015, in various markets as part of a larger strategy of giving shoppers more grocery options.

“Our customers have told us that grocery pickup is a game changer,” Susan Vanderlip, ecommerce market coach at Walmart, said in a statement published in the Register. “They are now able to complete their grocery shopping in a matter of minutes – between errands or on their way home – without ever getting out of the car.”

According to Walmart, more than 90 percent of shoppers using curbside pickup tend to purchase such items as fresh meat, dairy and produce.

The California stores rolling out the service this week are located in Bakersfield, Delano, Foothill Ranch, Fresno, Sanger, Clovis, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, Ontario, Rosemead, Hemet, Perris, Hesperia, Moreno Valley, Poway, Chula Vista, Beaumont, La Quinta, Vista, Indio, Escondido and Palm Desert.