Wal-Mart is expanding its grocery pickup service, another example of how online shopping is changing the way consumers get their orders.
The retailer has been testing grocery deliveries in some cities and curbside pickups in others, including Denver and Phoenix. Last week, Wal-Mart said it will expand the pickup service to Atlanta, Nashville and four more markets.
“We are not walking away from delivery,” Michael Bender, a Wal-Mart executive vice president, told Time. “But right now the focus for us is pickup.”
Wal-Mart’s service allows customers to order items online and then drive to a nearby store, where they park in a designated area and wait for an employee to load the items into their car.
Other retailers also are offering in-store and curbside pickups, while Target recently introduced same-day grocery deliveries in the Minneapolis area.
The Postal Service is testing same-day and grocery deliveries too, part of the organization’s efforts to better leverage its vast delivery network.
Wal-Mart’s move suggests some retailers might not be willing to deliver products themselves, industry analyst Neil Stern told Time.
“The economics of pickup are much better for a retailer. Delivering to the home remains costly,” he said.