Walmart & Target now consolidating online orders

[ItsAshleyFTW]

I noticed something new with Walmart and Target's websites. If you add at least two items to your cart, and at least one item has a different delivery date, both stores now give you the option to put all the items together in one package, and have it delivered on the latest date. No membership/subscripton fees are required for this, and Target even gives a $1 discount if you choose to group your items together.

This is good for people who don't mind waiting a little and who prefer getting their items all at once, not to open package after package. I personally prefer to get my items all on the same day, I don't mind waiting an extra day or two.

[ClownLoach]

I noticed something new with Walmart and Target's websites. If you add at least two items to your cart, and at least one item has a different delivery date, both stores now give you the option to put all the items together in one package, and have it delivered on the latest date. No membership/subscripton fees are required for this, and Target even gives a $1 discount if you choose to group your items together.

This is good for people who don't mind waiting a little and who prefer getting their items all at once, not to open package after package. I personally prefer to get my items all on the same day, I don't mind waiting an extra day or two.

Walmart and Target have been building facilities called "sortation centers" into certain stores, which serve as a sort of consolidation and processing center for orders. The intent is to lower their shipping costs by doing exactly what was offered to you, combining packages to ship once instead of twice. They are copying this concept from Amazon who uses AI (which used to be called machine learning) to slot the top selling items in an area at more local facilities to reduce shipping time. Amazon also offers a credit for waiting a day or so and combining packages although that credit is only for digital services like movies. At some point I do expect we will see the discounts go away, and be replaced by surcharges applied to low price single item shipments-or see a return to order minimum values.

[ItsAshleyFTW]

At some point I do expect we will see the discounts go away, and be replaced by surcharges applied to low price single item shipments-or see a return to order minimum values.

Target already does that on their website. You can't ship most items less than $10 if your order is less than $35. Walmart allows you to ship items under $10 individually, but there are a whole bunch of smaller items you can't ship in any order (Target will ship these items no problem). I'm open to Walmart having a $35 minimum for certain items if it meant that more items are available for shipping.

[storewanderer]

At some point I do expect we will see the discounts go away, and be replaced by surcharges applied to low price single item shipments-or see a return to order minimum values.

Target already does that on their website. You can't ship most items less than $10 if your order is less than $35. Walmart allows you to ship items under $10 individually, but there are a whole bunch of smaller items you can't ship in any order (Target will ship these items no problem). I'm open to Walmart having a $35 minimum for certain items if it meant that more items are available for shipping.

My last order from Target in maybe November was an assortment of under $10 items that totaled out in the $40 range and it came in FIVE separate shipments. Pulled from FIVE separate stores, some within 2 hours from me and some ten states away. No option was given to consolidate. One box had a couple items (2 of the same item) in it and one arrived damaged. I put in a damage claim for the 1 unit that was damaged. They had no way to do that- I had to claim damage on both items and they replaced both items. This wasn't right as only one unit was damaged, not both, but they said that is how it works when I contacted them; I also offered pictures (since if I submitted the claim myself it would allow pictures) and they did not want my pictures since I filed it through the call center... and they complain about shrink...

I was given the option to consolidate on a Target order back in 2022 for a $1 discount. That order was similar to the above and instead of getting 5 separate shipments I instead got 3 separate shipments.

Wal Mart has been getting worse and worse on product variety online. I used to be able to ship "hard to find" grocery items but now the website tries to push you to pick up or same day delivery (fulfilled from local store or local micro fulfillment center of which they have two within 25 miles of me). I have noticed there are some items I can still order if I go back to my order history, that otherwise will not come up if I search. Also i have noticed if I know the zip code that the item I want is sold in, sometimes if I set to a store in that zip code, I can add the item and it will ship the item to me. Sometimes I have items in my cart and they will fall out as I continue to shop. It is frustrating. I have only done one or two orders from Wal Mart's website in the past year due to this. But I have a lot of stores nearby. They have had ongoing offers tied to some major bank issued credit cards for 10% back on Wal Mart.com so they are obviously trying to drum up business.

[ItsAshleyFTW]

Wal Mart has been getting worse and worse on product variety online. I used to be able to ship "hard to find" grocery items but now the website tries to push you to pick up or same day delivery (fulfilled from local store or local micro fulfillment center of which they have two within 25 miles of me). I have noticed there are some items I can still order if I go back to my order history, that otherwise will not come up if I search. Also i have noticed if I know the zip code that the item I want is sold in, sometimes if I set to a store in that zip code, I can add the item and it will ship the item to me. Sometimes I have items in my cart and they will fall out as I continue to shop. It is frustrating. I have only done one or two orders from Wal Mart's website in the past year due to this. But I have a lot of stores nearby. They have had ongoing offers tied to some major bank issued credit cards for 10% back on Wal Mart.com so they are obviously trying to drum up business.

I know it's been happening to me too. Sometimes there's an item that I want and it isn't available for shipping. I have to wait and hope it will be back in stock soon. A bunch of smaller items are usually never available for shipping. It's even worse for me since there are no Walmart stores in my town, and they don't do same-day delivery to my house (not even through Instacart). We do have a couple Targets, Home Depot, Lowes and supermarkets, it usually isn't worth the time/money/effort to go into the next town or two just to pick up items and come back.

Walmart really needs to sort these problems out, a better shipping selection means a better value for Walmart Plus subscribers (it makes it easier to reach the $35 minimum for non-subscribers), and helps boost Walmart's sales in areas where they have little or no physical footprint. Like NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago etc.

[storewanderer]

I know it's been happening to me too. Sometimes there's an item that I want and it isn't available for shipping. I have to wait and hope it will be back in stock soon. A bunch of smaller items are usually never available for shipping. It's even worse for me since there are no Walmart stores in my town, and they don't do same-day delivery to my house (not even through Instacart). We do have a couple Targets, Home Depot, Lowes and supermarkets, it usually isn't worth the time/money/effort to go into the next town or two just to pick up items and come back.

Walmart really needs to sort these problems out, a better shipping selection means a better value for Walmart Plus subscribers (it makes it easier to reach the $35 minimum for non-subscribers), and helps boost Walmart's sales in areas where they have little or no physical footprint. Like NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago etc.

Where it gets frustrating is if you toggle to the nearest store location the items that can't be shipped are available for pick up at store. So they can clearly fulfill the item if they want to. They purposely don't. They can ship pretty much any item in their store (maybe not some cold medicines or tobacco/liquor stuff). I am guessing they've decided it is a zero sum game to fulfill small items via shipping. I have had similar experiences with the drugstore chains as well where they just don't ship small value items anymore, specifically CVS and Rite Aid. CVS pulls from stores so they can ship anything the store has... CVS used to ship anything but when they did the Carepass free shipping thing they quit shipping small items. Even though only some items qualified for free Carepass shipping. Now it is $10 minimum for free Carepass shipping but the small value items still aren't available. Rite Aid pulls online orders from their distribution centers but since Rite Aid distribution picks single units for most of its stores (doesn't typically send full cases of much of anything to the stores) that works and they can (and used to...) ship basically anything. But lately they also don't ship much small value stuff anymore. The online order is like a little mini "store pick" for them and instead of staging it to go out on the truck to a store they instead pack it and stage it for a carrier to pick up.

Another one who doesn't do great with small items is Kroger Ship. Minimum order quantities (also applies to Vitacost for low cost Kroger food) on the small value items are very common.

[Alpha8472]

I ordered 2 items from Walmart.com with a Walmart Plus Membership and in a matter of hours my package was delivered by a driver in a civilian car. This was obviously fulfilled from a local Walmart store.

I had no idea it could be so fast. I was used to 1 or 2 day shipping. I am in the San Francisco suburbs.

So online orders are coming from retail stores instead of some distant warehouse?

[ClownLoach]

I ordered 2 items from Walmart.com with a Walmart Plus Membership and in a matter of hours my package was delivered by a driver in a civilian car. This was obviously fulfilled from a local Walmart store.

I had no idea it could be so fast. I was used to 1 or 2 day shipping. I am in the San Francisco suburbs.

So online orders are coming from retail stores instead of some distant warehouse?

Both Walmart and Target fulfill as close to 100% of online orders as possible from stores now. Online warehouses are a thing of the past, with the exception of the "online only SKUs" that occupy a corner at the nearest DC.

At Walmart the orders are delivered by "Spark" drivers, similar to Target moving to Shipt. They're all just gig workers. I expect Target to eliminate the Shipt name over the next year and it will be called Circle 360 delivery. Since Target acquired Shipt many competing retailers are dropping them, and they're switching to Doordash or Uber Eats. Soon the only deliveries Shipt drivers will have are Target.

Target does a good job of explaining stores fulfilling orders here. The same strategy is in place at Walmart, Best Buy, Macy's, Dicks, CVS, Michael's, and others. Ironically this is why you occasionally see stories of a customer getting their new jacket in the mail and it has a security tag on it, or a video game in a security box. A poorly trained employee pulled and packed the item. Unfortunately I'm seeing more shop worn and used items come because of this as customers abuse return policies, and more stories of people ordering an iPad and getting a box with a floor tile shrink wrapped inside delivered to their door.

https://corporate.target.com/news-featu ... s-strategy

[Brian Lutz]

Has Walmart actually built out any of the automated "Market Fulfillment Centers" they were planning? I see news articles indicating that two of these (one in Bentonville, one in New Hampshire) opened, and I know that the Tulalip store in Marysville WA was being remodeled with plans for one of these, but have heard very little about this since about 2021.

[ClownLoach]

Has Walmart actually built out any of the automated "Market Fulfillment Centers" they were planning? I see news articles indicating that two of these (one in Bentonville, one in New Hampshire) opened, and I know that the Tulalip store in Marysville WA was being remodeled with plans for one of these, but have heard very little about this since about 2021.

I wonder if they were going to use the same tech we Albertsons/Safeway. There was a large company that was building these for Albertsons/Safeway and they recently were reported to have gone out of business leaving the machinery inoperable. They fully remodeled and condensed a newly converted Pavilions in Laguna Niguel to open up a 20,000 sq ft space, shrinking the sales floor. Even that one at first appeared to be intended to just create a separate suite next door and shrink an oversized store (I believe the Vons/Pavilions was pushing 80,000 sq ft and had lots of wide open unused space). They modified the dock so it would be split for a second retailer. Something started building out next door but stopped. Then they did construct the fulfillment center. The entire activity made the appearance that they weren't sure about going through with it but then decided to do so at the last minute.

Some of the remodels at Walmart going were intended to be preparing for the installation of such centers. Temecula near me was under remodel for almost a year and had cleared an entire expansion pad to the left of the store to construct more space for such a facility. The signage for the remodel actually said something like "pardon our mess as we construct our new fulfillment center." They never built it, and the project which was a light remodel turned into a Flagship project which meant complete storewide fixture replacement, installation of vignettes and mannequin stages and spotlights. They took entire departments down to the ground and back up multiple times during that light remodel that became a heavy remodel, all of foods moved up to 4 times. I have been in some 2023/24 remodels of good stores like East Vancouver WA and although they have the visual changes and layout moves they didn't get the Flagship displays nor the complete fixture replacement, so there is a difference between "Flagship" and "Store of the Future" at Walmart. To the best of my knowledge there are only a dozen Flagship remodels. The "Store of the Future" is the current blue and pine "Airport" decor that was supposed to be in at least 1,000 stores soon. I think they've met or exceeded that figure.