Walmart is going bananas with one of its trademark supercenters in Rogers, Arkansas, using the site to experiment with ways to improve the customer experience across its locations.
Actually, bananas are part of the world’s largest retailer’s revamped super store strategy. In a blog post late last week, Walmart said Store 5260 put “berries—a growing category—in the front of the department. Bananas, already a huge draw, are toward the back to help lead customers through.” In fact, bananas have long been a top—if not the top—seller at Walmart.
Along with a revamped electronics department designed to encourage customers to interact with gadgets, check-out options at the location have been expanded to include hybrid registers that can be either self-check out or manned by a cashier. The retailer also described checkouts that operate three-times faster than conventional checkouts, though it did not elaborate.
The online order pick-up spot is more clearly marked in the test store and sits alongside the customer service section of the store, near the front.
Online grocery shopping was expanded to more than 150 of the chain’s locations in the US in the company’s fourth quarter, said CEO Douglas McMillon during a call to discuss earnings on Thursday (Feb. 18).
“We are learning some interesting things along the way,” McMillon said, noting that most customers do online grocery shopping between 8 PM and 9 PM. There is also an uptick in orders in the middle of the night, often for diapers and formula.
“While it’s been a while since my kids were that age, I remember those days well,” McMillon said.