Lansing Walmart offers free grocery pickup service

Service begins Thursday, April 5

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (April 4, 2018) – Yesterday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Walmart Supercenter in Lansing (17625 Torrence Ave) was a celebration of the new service the store now offers—Online Grocery Pickup. Shoppers can now visit www.walmart.com/grocery, select their items, and choose the time they want to pick up their order. A trained personal shopper will put the order together and run it out to the car at the appointed time.

Shirley Butler is one of Walmart employees who went through the training to become a personal shopper. The training emphasizes not only speed and accuracy, but also attention to detail. With regard to expiration dates, for example, a shopper will search for the latest expiration date available. And when an order contains an item that is out of stock, the shoppers are trained to substitute with something better—a brand name instead of the generic, or a larger size at the same price. Butler was wearing tennis shoes at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to send the message that she will be running all over the store to fill online orders.

Darnella Singleton is the Lansing Walmart’s E-Commerce Manager. She explained that customers can shop online or use the Walmart Grocery app to place their online orders. Either forum allows shoppers to choose the items, reserve a date and time for pickup, and pay online. “We pick the order for you and let you know when it’s ready,” Singleton explained. “And then you pull up at the side of the building where we have the pickup signs. Check in using your mobile device, or call the number, and your personal shopper brings the order out to you—you never even have to get out of the car.”

“And the service is free,” added Singleton. “We’re the first retailer that offers the personal shopping service for free.”

Marketing Commerce Manager Jeremy Esparza noted that Lansing’s Walmart is an ideal location for online shopping because of the easy expressway access. People who work in Chicago and live in northwest Indiana can place a grocery order before leaving the office, swing through Lansing to pick it up, and hop right back on the highway to head home.

To add to the excitement of the new service and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Walmart had invited the Jesse White Tumbling Team to perform. Originally they had planned to hold their program outdoors, but a light rain led to the decision to set up inside, using the length of the refrigerated aisle near the front of the store.

The tumblers began with some basic warm-up moves:

They added height and complexity with each new round:

Using the trampoline allowed for some additional moves:

At times the tumblers almost seemed to be flying:

Whether the crowd at the Lansing, Illinois, Walmart was there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony or for their regular shopping needs, they expressed excitement about the festivities.

The Lansing Walmart is located at 17625 Torrence Ave. Spaces for online grocery order pickups are located at the north side of the store.