Walmart to try its hand at online grocery delivery: report
At its worst times, grocery stores are up there with health card offices and ER waiting rooms as the most terrible places in Canada.
But what would you pay to avoid them?
Grocery delivery services, which save you the graces of magazine covers like this, are nothing new, though their online incarnation has gotten a boost lately with news Walmart may be considering its own Web business.
According to Bloomberg News, the retail giant has discussed launching an online grocery service in San Jose, Calif., to test if the business is viable.
Whether or not “Project Titan,” as it’s reportedly been dubbed within the company, actually happens for Walmart, it’s an intriguing service to consider nonetheless.
While grocery shopping may be a chore to many, delivery companies haven’t exactly knocked their idea out of the park. Countless services, like Peapod and Webvan (which went spectacularly bankrupt in 2001), have tried their hand at the market but haven’t been able to corner more than a few select cities at once.
Even big-name companies such as Amazon, which runs the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service in Seattle, hasn’t been able to branch out; consumers, though they may jump at the chance to have someone else perform any other errand on their to-do list, appear reluctant to outsource grocery shopping.
But Walmart is a different beast, of course, so maybe it will take a machine this big to give the online grocery delivery biz the jolt it needs to get going.
Just as a background on the idea, such services usually charge $10-$20 on top of your grocery bill to deliver your goods (OnlineGrocer.ca, which services Ottawa, only bills $12). There have been no figures tossed around for what Walmart may charge.
If you ask many Canadians, $12 is probably a very reasonable price if it means keeping them out of the grocery store after a hard day’s work.
So, should Walmart enter the sector, would you give online grocery delivery services a try? If so, how much would you be willing to pay to have grub brought to your home?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
*Follow Jason on Twitter here.
Posted by: justyjane | Apr 5, 2021 1:27:32 AM
At the moment, I try to avoid grocery shopping at Walmart because I always end up spending so much more money than when I purchase my groceries at another grocery store. I would probably purchase online as I would be able to add up all of my groceries "before" cashing in. And, I think it would be easier to shop from a list online than to see everything Walmart has to offer in store. I'd pay about $15.00 for this service. Look forward to it happening in Canada.
Posted by: gloria dutka | Apr 5, 2021 2:22:21 AM
i would only pay 12.00 as the cost of groceries has already risen to much to suit me.i would love to have them delivered , but living in a small town .. 74 ks from the closest walmart.... i dont see it happing
Posted by: Dale | Apr 5, 2021 3:27:15 AM
I think this is a great idea!
I already have my groceries delivered from Sobeys. I do not think this is a service directly from Sobeys but rather a special agreement between the delivery man and Sobeys to provide this service. It is not online though. I must call in the order, which is pshopped (picked up) by a sobeys employee.
They charge $10 - $15 dollars depending on size of order. I would pay this much for cabs anyway. Also, more importantly this service is for shut-ins like myself who are disabled. All I do is put the food away when they arrive.
Having Walmart go online with a similar service would be very convenient and cost effective for me and others.
Posted by: Chip | Apr 5, 2021 3:33:44 AM
Unless you're eternally bedridden for medical reasons... take a bus, your car or bicycle or walk to the nearest grocery store and buy your own food. It's called exercise, fresh air and social contact. Otherwise, the next new fad will not only have WallyWorld "associates" delivering your food for $12., but maybe cooking it and feeding your obese couch carcass for an extra $10. Lazyness to the 100th degree... only in America !!
Posted by: Mick O'Keeffe | Apr 5, 2021 2:55:36 PM
What is it with people always wanting someone else to do everything for them, even the simplest tasks like picking up a few items at the grocery store. When I do my shopping I avoid the cabbage with the moldy brown bit on the end and I don't take the steak loaded with fat, gristle and
paddywack, I go for the nice piece.
Soon about the only thing left will be the visit to the small room in the house.
Mon dieu, don't tell me, there is someone out there who can do that for you.
Posted by: Elaine | Apr 7, 2021 12:01:09 PM
Bet your butt I'd pay $12-15 to have groceries delivered from Walmart! I don't have a car, so use my city's transit system to get to Walmart. The service to the nearest one - which is way too far away from either home or work to make walking or biking feasible - is crappy. It generally takes two tickets ($5.50 total) to do the round trip. The total weight and volume I can buy on one trip is restricted to what I can carry in my shopping cart. The delivery charge to get a large order delivered at one time may end up being less than the cost of making several trips on the bus - and then there's the time saved.
For the person who claimed laziness on the part of anyone who would use this service: Before you make comments like this, why don't you try dragging a cart full of groceries (especially cans) through two feet of snow when it is minus 20 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit, not to mention having to wait for a bus outside when you don't know when it will show up because the traffic is totally screwed up by the weather? These things are a fact of life for several months every winter in my city.
Further, I am hardly a couch potato - my job is very physical, with non-stop lifting, carrying, stretching, squatting, and walking - I have good reason to be too tired at the end of the day to put up with the long trip to Walmart and the extra effort to drag groceries home on the bus. Besides that, at the age of 59, I'm probably slimmer and in better physical condition that you. So take your narrow-minded, judgmental attitude and shove it!
Posted by: val | Apr 7, 2021 1:53:22 PM
I would most definetly use this service. I am a person with disabilties. My circumstances do not allow me to go to Wal Mart myself and have no one to go for me. If delivery services cost $12 that would cut into the savings I would have saved by shopping at Wal Mart. So it would have to be more affordable to me, then to continue shopping at my local grocery store. Many times when I go through the Wal mart's flyer, I am very frustrated that I am unable to get to Wal Mart for all of the savings, expecially when my income is below the poverty line. Its impossible to keep food in my fridge when I have no choice but to go to the store around the corner. To the comment of laziness, learn how to spell. I have no family or friends to go or to take me shopping. Some people judge so quickly. No compassion for people who are less fortunate.. so sad.
Posted by: Pat | Apr 7, 2021 4:43:32 PM
I live in Victoria, B.C. and order my groceries online from a local chain, Thrifty's, which is now associated with Sobey's.They charge $9.95 for same day delivery, and $7.95 for delivery other than same day! They also have a points system, and you earn points which you can redeem for cash towards future orders. I would pay $8-$10 for grocery delivery from Walmart, but not much more.
Posted by: Nancy Sebry | Apr 11, 2021 5:23:02 PM
I currently use Grocery Gateway and would be interested in having a choice in on-line shopping.
Bring it on !!!!
Thank you.
Posted by: Carol | Sep 15, 2021 10:28:42 AM
I use Grocery Gateway which is very convenient. Cost saving - as I don't drive, taxi cost $25-30 to go and come back. That is just way too much.
My only complaint is when I order fresh produce - they pick the largest sizes of onions (2lb bag has 3 huge onions) and beets...very frustrating.
I would indeed like the choice of shopping at Walmart and getting the sales!