Walmart has decided to revamp its e-commerce department. Customers noticed that a lot of items have become unable to be ordered online. This is because the curbside pickup service was affected by Walmart’s recent changes to the e-commerce system. The changes were mainly due to cost-saving measures. Read more about that below.

Real Reason Why Items Are Not Available

The main reason you may not find some of the items you need available is because of Walmart’s efforts to make curbside pickup less costly to the company. But what may be unavailable to you may not necessarily be unavailable for online orders everywhere.

You Are Too Far Away

Fuel is expensive, and Walmart wants to save money and make a profit. Walmart altered its policy on curbside pickup so that it would avoid transporting items that were stored in locations from where you may be too far. This would help Walmart save costs by determining which products are too expensive to be shipped.

However, this means that if an item is not available for online shopping, it does not make it unavailable everywhere. Stores at other locations may have the items ready if the warehouse where the product is, is not too far away.

Walmart is also planning to decrease the shipping of items that come from different locations.

It is reported that many of Walmart’s customers were notified of the recent changes.

Another Speculated Reason: Curbside Pickup Is Hurting Overall Sales

Another possibility is that Walmart’s curbside pickup might be hurting the sales of other items. You may ask how.

Research shows that when a consumer is physically at the store, walking up and down aisles, they will see and desire items for which they were not looking. When they see other products, they are more likely to buy more products than they were intending to buy.

Well, with online shopping, a consumer knows exactly what they want, and they just go select it on the e-commerce website. Online, a consumer does not get to be stimulated by many images of products. 

Anyway, How Does Curbside Pickup at Walmart Work?

While some products may not be available online, there are many high-quality products to buy, through curbside pickup at Walmart. Firstly, a quick explanation of how it works, and then you will find out how to make use of it.

Curb-side pickup allows shoppers to do their shopping online. A shopper goes to Walmart’s website, finds whatever they are looking for, orders it, and schedules a time at which to go to the store and pick up their order.

How To Use Curbside Pickup

You can make use of Walmart’s e-commerce site if you have an account.

Step 1

Log in to your Walmart account.

Step 2

Choose the store in or nearest to your location. 

Step 3

Scroll down a bit, to the middle of the page to “Reserve pickup or delivery,” and click on “see times.” Make sure that the “Pickup” tab is highlighted blue and your correct store is listed. 

Select a time slot to pick your shopping up and save.

Step 4

Browse or search for the items you want.  Select your item and add it to your cart.

Step 5

Click on the cart icon on the top right corner, then “Continue to checkout.” Add payment method details on the next page.

Step 6

You wait. Then you can go pick up your order at the scheduled time. Once you are at the store and parked at your reserved spot, you can call the store on their number to notify them that you have arrived. A store employee will come to you with your order.

Why are some items no longer available for curbside pickup?

Some of the items are not available because of the costs involved if they are too far away.

Can I make a small order with a curbside pickup?

Yes, there is no limit to how small your pickup order can be. An order that is under $35 has an extra fee of $5.99, though.

Can someone else pick up my order if I won’t make it in time?

Yes. If you want to send someone to grab your order, you can designate that person as an alternative to picking up the shopping.

Conclusion

I hope you now know why not everything is available for curbside pickup. The mega store is simply cutting costs, but you can still order a whole lot of great quality products. What’s more, in-store shopping can also be a great experience to find things you thought you didn’t need.