Walmart built a giant vending machine that retrieves groceries

pulse

June 6, 2017 3:23 PM

Walmart is trying to make it easier to pick up online grocery orders.

Walmart

The retailer is testing a giant self-service kiosk in the parking lot of a supercenter in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, where customers can pick up online grocery orders without interacting with employees.

Customers purchase and pay for groceries online, then Walmart employees pick and pack their orders and store them in bins in the 20-foot-by-80-foot kiosk.

When customers arrive to pick up their orders, they walk up to the kiosk and type in a code and their groceries appear within a minute.

"Especially for busy families with kids, grocery shopping used to take a couple of hours on the weekend," Markley saidYou can now pickup your groceries in just a few minutes and have more time back in your day."

The pickup kiosks are part of a broader effort by Walmart to more seamlessly integrate its online and offline services, and leverage the power of its vast network of stores to better compete with Amazon.

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