The future is now on display for the world’s biggest company.
Just off Interstate 49 in northwest Arkansas, a few miles from the company’s headquarters, shoppers can now witness Walmart’s store, er, superstore of the future.
Visitors to this reimagined box store will behold a variety of omnichannel innovations, including:
- An expansive curbside pickup area, complete with digital kiosks
- A drive-thru for retrieving online orders
- A kiosk for claiming in-store pickups
- A “scan-and-go” checkout station, letting patrons shop via the Walmart app and then pay with a quick scan of a digital barcode
The next generation store also boasts an assortment of low-tech atmospheric enhancements, like a stylish barbecue restaurant and sleeker electronic displays.
It’s all in an effort, as Walmart’s chief merchandising officer said, to “…bring enthusiasm back to the stores.”
What Do Shoppers Think about Walmart’s Superstore of the Future?
This weekend Field Agent dispatched 11 of its more than 700,000 U.S.-based Agents to mystery shop Walmart’s superstore of the future. As you can partly see in the video below, we asked Agents to:
- Make a purchase of at least $5 from Walmart.com and retrieve the order via the company’s new in-store pickup kiosk
- Shop in-store using the Walmart app, then checkout through the store’s “scan-and-go” station
- Visit the store’s barbecue restaurant, Big Rub, to study the menu
- Make a trip to the electronics section to examine the store’s redesigned product displays
Agents documented their experiences with photo and video.
Download the free report, “Reimagining the Big Box,” to learn what these shoppers thought about this innovative superstore. We asked several questions to gauge their attitudes toward new store features as well as the store on the whole, including:
- After using the in-store kiosk, which pickup choice would you prefer: the in-store kiosk or curbside pickup?
- Compared to other payment types (i.e. regular card scanner or chip card), how user-friendly is Walmart Pay/Scan-and-Go as a form of payment?
- To what extent do you agree with this statement: "I find the updated Walmart format more appealing than the conventional Walmart format"?
- To what extent do you agree with this statement: "I am more likely to shop at Walmart after experiencing all the store updates today"?
We detail their responses, and offer several images from inside the store, in the full report.
A Smart Target
Of course, Walmart isn’t the only major retailer reimagining the future of retail. Target, too, has recently unveiled its store of the future in the Los Angeles area.
Target’s innovation is on full display, for instance, with the launch of its “Connected Living Experience” department at a store in Minnetonka, MN. This series of displays showcases a variety of “smart” products, intended to educate shoppers about the Internet of Things and its possibilities.
As the video above depicts, Field Agent also sent Agents to scope out this new department, and we share their pictures and feedback as a bonus to the report.
