NEW ORLEANS – Building on its commitment to save customers time and money in new ways, Walmart expects to spend an estimated $73 million this year in Louisiana through the remodeling of 15 stores, as well as the launch and continued expansion of several customer-focused innovations. Details were shared in a press release.
“We can’t wait for Louisiana customers to experience the new and innovative ways Walmart is enhancing the retail experience,” said James Winchester, regional manager of Walmart in Louisiana. “From Pickup Towers to the brand-new Walmart Voice Order, Walmart is continuously developing new technology that will enhance convenience and save customers time and money.”
Walmart plans to remodel stores in the following Louisiana locations:
- 1379 Homer Road, Minden, LA
- 1645 E Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, Shreveport, LA
- 925 Keyser Ave., Natchitoches, LA
- 525 N Cities Service Highway, Sulphur, LA
- 303 E Interstate Drive, Jennings, LA
- 2204 S 5th St., Leesville, LA
- 880 US-190, Covington, LA
- 1616 W Airline Highway, Laplace, LA
- 3360 Front St., Winnsboro, LA
- 410 N Canal Blvd., Thibodaux, LA
- 7162 LA-1, Mansura, LA
- 2171 O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge, LA
- 17585 Airline Highway, Prairieville, LA
- 1501 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey, LA
- 3520 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA
Walmart will continue to innovate to help customers save time and money by creating a seamless shopping experience that gives them the options to shop when, where and how they want. The following are examples of the customer-focused innovations that will be expanded this year in Louisiana.
Grocery Pickup – Busy customers love Walmart’s grocery pickup option. It gives them the convenience of shopping online and the ease of quickly picking up groceries without having to leave their cars. The best part: it’s all at no additional cost. Walmart plans to expand the popular program to more than 23 stores across the state by the end of the year. The company also recently introduced Walmart Voice Order, which allows customers to simply say “Hey Google, talk to Walmart” and the Google Assistant will add items directly to their Walmart Grocery cart.
Grocery Delivery – Walmart’s convenient grocery delivery service is also proving to be a hit with customers. This year, Walmart plans to add the service to 25 stores, increasing its coverage area in the state.
Walmart Pickup Towers – Walmart Pickup Towers are 16-feet tall, high-tech vending machines capable of fulfilling a customer’s online order in less than a minute once they arrive at the store. It’s easy to do– once the order is ready, step up to the Pickup Tower and scan the barcode sent to your smartphone to retrieve your item. This year, Walmart plans to add 17 Pickup Towers to stores across the state.
Autonomous Shelf Scanner – These scanners use automation to scan shelves and help identify where in-stock levels are low, prices are wrong, or labels are missing. In addition, the scanners provide a real-time view of inventory in the store– information used to direct associates to the areas of the store that need the most attention. This year, Walmart plans to expand the technology to four additional stores across the state.
FAST Unloader – Today, product is unloaded as it arrives at the store through a complex, highly manual process that has seen little innovation over the last 50 years – until now. A new system in Walmart backrooms- known as FAST-automatically scans and sorts items that come off trucks based on priority and department, allowing associates to spend less time unloading in the backroom and more time on the sales floor with customers. This year, Walmart plans to expand the technology to 33 stores across the state.
Autonomous Floor Scrubber – The autonomous floor scrubber uses assisted autonomy technology to perform the task of cleaning and scrubbing the concrete floors in stores. The company plans to expand the technology to 40 stores across the state this year.