Walmart and FedEx: New Spin on ‘Site to Store’ Services

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Moving outside its retail square, Walmart utilises FedEx’s numerous locations in order to reach new consumers and grow its national brand presence within the US.

With declining sales and difficulties in expanding locally, US retail giant Walmart, has been searching for new ways in which to reignite growth amongst the domestic market.

In an effort to increase sales in big cities where the retailer has little or no store presence at all, Walmart is trialling a new initiative that allows e-commerce shoppers to purchase product online and have it delivered for free to nearby FedEx office outlets.

The service, which was implemented during the US summer, has been tested in Los Angeles, where there are currently two Walmart stores and Boston, which has no Walmart stores.  However, FedEx has many locations in both cities.

“Whether you are near your office, your home, your university or just happening to be passing by 26 locations in LA and 18 in Boston, you have access to Walmart variety and prices in a very convenient pickup location,” said Walmart’s head of U.S. operations, Bill Simon.

“Customer response thus far has been quite positive, and our business team recognizes we have a winning formula,” stated spokesman Ravi Jariwala.

It’s also a way in which Walmart can expand its branding without investing in real estate, and also target younger and more online savvy consumers who are more than happy to make big purchases online. The partnership also enables FedEx to take advantage of its locations near college campuses, inherited during the delivery company’s 2004 acquisition of Kinkos.  This is perhaps why part of Walmart’s LA-based promotion of the service has involved direct mail to students at the University of Southern California.

Interestingly enough, international media coverage of the program’s launch has focused on the way Walmart has chosen to increase its reach and branding within the US market, rather than the ‘free’ component of the new delivery program. Perhaps this is indicative of the way in which overseas marketplaces have become conditioned to free delivery as simply being part of a normal online shopping experience and is something Australian e-commerce businesses can learn from.

While ‘site to store’ services (which allow consumers to purchase online and pick up in store) are beginning to take hold in Australia, consumers must still be within reasonable proximity to the retailer in order to utilise this. Yet Walmart and FedEx’s new spin on ‘site to store’ is a further example of how retailers can break down geographical barriers and reach new markets.

Article by Elisabeth Lambert

Elisabeth is an editor and content creator for The Media Pad, publishers of Power Retail. As a writer and blogger, she is rapt that she is able to channel her passion for online retailing into Power Retail. She also loves writing about rugby, pop culture, travel and anything baby related. Having spent most of the last decade in Japan, Elisabeth still immerses herself in as much Japanese crazy as possible, and when she has time, Elisabeth likes to cook, ski and train for triathlons.