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Comment by HeyLaughingBoy | Hacker News Reader

As a frequent Walmart customer, let me offer a different perspective.

Brick & mortar: my fastest route home every day has me driving past a rural Walmart, so even though the selection is not that great, they've become my default grocery store purely through convenience.

Cheap shit that doesn't have to last long: I just bought my 7 year-old three long sleeved shirts for $6 total. He'll wear them through the Spring and by Fall will have outgrown them anyway.

Convenience: when the store is on my way home anyway, and there's tons of easy parking, it's far easier to shop Walmart than go online to look for something.

As a result of this convenience we're now more likely to shop at Walmart.com instead of Amazon.com, I can order online and get free in-store pickup without paying shipping or having a Prime subscription.

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> I can order online and get free in-store pickup

this will be a game changer for me. Big time. The day when I order online, check-in on my mobile app in the parking lot, pull up to the delivery dock, Johnny comes out with a box of my stuff and puts it in my trunk, and I drive off. That will be my nirvana.

I have mild social anxiety, but walmart, for some reason, amplifies it considerably. Grocery stores too. Partly because I dont do proper meal planning/shopping planning, but partly because it just feels so inefficient to wade around the store and just feeling...handicapped ? Like, I just want to get my things and go, but ther'es always something impeding me: forgetting items, people in the way, employees restocking shelves during busy hours, long lines, bottlenecks at the one exit, etc.

Drive-thru supermarkets/walmarts/amazon pickup is going to change the world.

> Drive-thru supermarkets/walmarts/amazon pickup is going to change the world.

you probably mean change the USA, in France for instance, drive-thru supermarkets exists since at least 5 years [1][2] They now even have some new 24/7 pick up locations, which is a big deal for France where there is no 24/7 stores. There, your food just waits for you in a refrigerated/freezer lock box [3].

I'm actually surprised this is not already a common thing in the USA, which invented drive-thru fast foods 70 years ago.

[1] https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev...

[2] https://drive.intermarche.com/Carte (look for the icons of a car with the trunk open)

[3] https://drive.intermarche.com/Content/images/prehome/pdv/dri...

Drive-thu pickup exists, but it's not widespread. Where I grew up in Ohio there's a chain that has had grocery loading since at least the 80s. You drive up, give them a number and they put the groceries in your trunk.

Oddly I recall drive through quick marts/etc and liquor/beer places all over Ohio. I wonder if there are just laws against it in certain states?

We use to have drive through convenience stores in Florida called the Farm Store. They were useful, but impractical for any big shopping. I just can't see someone trying to hand over a gallon of milk, 4kg, through a car window. Beer, cigarettes and junk food were their forté.

I don't know there's any laws, but if there were I'd think Oregon and New Jersey would require it since they already do that for pumping gasoline.

Wouldn't it be even more game changer if stuff was just delivered to you at your doorstep :). I'm not sure if other people have seen this but these days I'm able to buy tons of stuff from Amazon delivered within 24 hours for free. And guess who is delivering these? Its not UPS or FedEx. I often see normal people in normal cars doing it. Amazon is essentially trying to turn all these people with cars in to delivery service so you don't have to stop at store and checking with mobile app and wait for Jonny to come out with box of your stuff.

That would be wonderful. I guess for some reason I just assumed it would be a luxury. If groceries for one guy for 3 days cost $45 purchased in-store, I'd definitely be comfortable paying $5 more to have someone pick and bag it for me. But I wouldn't pay much more than $10 for doorstep delivery, even though grocery shopping is a stressful experience for me.

I live in the 'burbs and I drive every day anyway. To me, the pain isn't the driving (though for some urban areas I'm sure it is), it's just the hassle of parking and shopping in a crowded, inefficient store (wasting my time), and hauling all my stuff back to the car.

I think theres a deeper psychological issue at play here too: delivered to your door makes you passive, at the "mercy" or whim of the company/person making the delivery. There's a subconscious anxiety associated with waiting in anticipation. Whereas, going out and picking up makes you the active one. Sure the store could make you wait, but if they design their system properly, "ready for pickup" should mean just that. But "out for delivery" could me 5m or 3 hours from now.

In the UK most supermarket chains have delivery, with charges in the ~5 pound region ($6 or so), but most also have Prime like subscriptions. E.g. I pay about $110/year to get my shopping delivered from Ocado - this includes unlimited "free" deliveries of orders above $50. Since we take delivery once a week, it adds up to just a bit above $2/delivery.

Best part is the convenience: We've set it up to deliver once a week, and so every week the day after the previous delivery they create a new order and we can edit it in their app or on their website, and optionally you can set it to auto-populate your order based on your shopping history, and they get it "close enough" that often we don't bother even checking the order (this week, for example, I didn't) and we know we'll get something that's "close enough" that worst case we'll pick up the odd thing extra when we're out anyway sometime during the week.

They deliver within the same 1 hour slot every week (unless we change it; if we do, they will show us when they have a car in the area if we want to try to be more eco-friendly, but won't put any restrictions on us if they have capacity), and it's very rare or them to miss it - when they do, the driver will call and explain why and give us updates. If they're able to deliver early, they'll call and ask, and if necessary (if we're out etc.) they'll do other deliveries first if they can or worst case sit and wait to deliver within the agreed time slot.

They'll carry everything into your kitchen if you wish, or wherever you want them to, and everything comes in colour-coded bags for freezer, fridge, and cabinets. The receipt list everything by minimum guaranteed use-by dates.

The precision in delivery makes all the difference. I rarely go into grocery stores any more, and I don't miss it.

Amazon fresh is the bomb for groceries. $15/mo for unlimited free deliveries, and the groceries are same price or cheaper than Safeway. They package it up very well too - frozen stuff stays frozen and even eggs arrive undamaged.

I actively try and avoid delivery where possible because to me it's less convenient (within reason, eg i wouldn't drive too far or pay too much more):

1. The delivery guy may assume I'm not home, and hence leave a missed delivery card without knocking (way too common...)

2. If i know i won't be home: all the " permission to leave" forms are different (or sometimes not possible; and are a hassle)

3. Sometimes there's no good place to leave the item, so leaving isn't possible ( often the postie refuses even though I gave the permission, because we disagree about what's okay)

4. If i need it now, I'm in control if i go get it. (Added perk of physically comparing in some cases.)

5. _usually_ resolution time for issues with pickups is faster than deliveries (eg i notice in store (eg wrong item or size - which i've had a few times online), or can quickly go back).

6. When i'm shopping for a delivered item i don't yet know what the full cost will be (assuming no free prime-like option) and it often varies stupidly.

(At present all my deliveries actually go to a family member's house cause I know they'll be home, so no signing or leaving issues...)

I feel like my life setup must be a bit different to others :-) But I find it interesting how different my perception is to the others in this thread :-)

Part of the challenge with this is that Amazon Logistics is the only carrier that has "lost" items I've ordered. Several times.

But with respect to delivery times: In the UK they have rolled out increasing number of regional warehouses to support same day delivery for many goods (e.g. London has at least two Amazon warehouses). Being able to order in the morning and gets things delivered in the afternoon certainly stops me from going to the shops for a lot of things where even 24 hour delivery feels "too long".

He said rural, though. As someone living in southern Maine, which isn't even exactly rural, I have to pay extra for 1 day from Amazon - and it's not available on every item. On the other hand, I drive right past a Walmart strip mall on the way home every day.

The bigger issue I have with Walmart is the quality. The only stuff I buy there is consumable.

In major Indian cities, there are already small players who provides home delivery groceries(including vegetables and fruits). The delivery charge of order of any size is rs 30-50 which is very reasonable.

I combat shopping anxiety by not making any plans what to buy and just strolling through the shop looking at the items and putting things that look tasty in my cart. Sometimes I forget important items, but usually it works out well. Treating shopping more like exploring the offers and less like checking things off a mental list makes it less stressful for me.

Unfortunately this doesn't work when I actually need a specific item like a pair of jeans or something like that.

I've found that going on my lunch break helps. I buy stuff for lunch, sometimes stuff for dinner, while I'm already in "work mode" and energized, vs going after work when I'm tired. The stores aren't that crowded at lunch time either.

Why is this not a step back from getting the stuff delivered in the first place?

I see it more as a secondary option. The primary reason being, if everything's in stock, I should be able to get it today, with maybe a 1-2 hr waiting time. If I want shrimp pasta tonight, I can order the ingredients at lunch break, and pick up on my way home.

Other reasons could be people have poor delivery from their UPS driver, stolen packages, some people prefer not having people come to their door, some people feel empowered by going out and getting what they want, when they want to get it.

The biggest reason could be that it's ultimately a lower price for everyone, assuming its cheaper to hire junior employees to walk the store and pick my groceries vs hiring a driver and a truck to take the stuff to everyones door (plus someone to do all the picking).

All of these seem like solvable problems. E.g. in Manhattan Prime Now can already deliver within 1-2 hours. Stolen packages can be catered by drop-off safeboxes in houses/buildings. Job specialization should win in the end - a delivery person with an efficient route is going to be cheaper than the sum of everyone picking their stuff up.

The Kroger grocery chain by my house just started offering this and it is super popular.

Folks can come by after picking up their kids and get their groceries dropped in their car off the side of the building without leaving the car. All for a flat 4.95$

Personally I wouldn't mind having to put the groceries in my car, just having to go in and grap the already packed bags.

the paradoxical thing about this is it would actually make me want to watch commercials! if I dont step foot in the store anymore, how will I know what they have ? I will want (!) marketers to give me information about their products. This will be a marketing wet-dream.

Tell me more, please. What info would you want?

say I never walk through the aisles anymore (not saying the store wouldn't allow it, but it's so convenient to pickup that people like me might never do it). I'd no longer get inspiration for meals, or learn about a new brand of cereal, or see that the competitor's eggs are $1 off, or that the bakery just got fresh salmon from Alaska. I would actually want to keep abreast of what products are available in my store.

Bonus if the "updates" (ads) were targeted to me. If I were vegetarian, it should know not to show me about prime rib, for instance. If it sees I only buy granola or mainly health foods, don't give me ads about lucky charms. and not 30 second commercials either, just quick intros, with video/pictures, and a few facts about relevant products.

Through what medium or platform would you expect to have access to that data? A video on the app/page for the store?

when I order, maybe (at most) 25% of the screen that clearly says "Browse our store". Then I see a menu: dairy/produce/breakfast/butcher/bakery. I pick a category, and select a product, then a short, embedded video plays (that is easy to mute/cancel). (The kind of video is where you hover over the thumbnail and it plays, not click a youtube link). Then it says "Today we've got Choice Sirloin for $4.99/lb, farm raised, corn-fed from Johnny's out in Arkansas (quick clip of Johnnys farm). Also consider pairing with this recipe of beets (cue link to purchase beets and all ingredients for sauce ).

Actually, that just occurred to me, if you included recipes with the advertising, that wouldn't bother me at all. Just like reddit's DIY, start with the finished "product", then say " to make this, buy these things" (of course with a shortcut to just add them all to your cart) "and do this:" (cue to video of person making the dish).

but back to advertising, just quick (15s) videos with simple information and price. maybe with sideways scrolling so if I'm looking at margarine, it also has quick links to butter and vegetable oil. Don't skimp on video: each product has the same demo video/advertisement so I can compare them.

Great feedback, thanks.

It's a shame there's a fee. Isn't it cheaper not having people coming into the store and pushing carts/waiting in lines?

Exactly. Can't an Uber driver pick it up for me and deliver it to my house?

That's what Walmart Grocery is. It's really neat. You order online and schedule a pickup for a day or two later. You pull up, call, and they bring it out to your car and load it up. It doesn't cost anything extra. I actually don't live in that big of a town, and yet it's available. I was surprised.

If you'd like to use my referral link we each get $10 off the next order. http://r.wmt.co/e0nUh

That's how Click And Collect works in the UK

Target kinda sorta does this. Checkout curbside pickup. Hopefully your shopping experience gets better in the future.

Those shirts cost way more than $6. Walmart gets corporate welfare from the government and your tax dollars. They are allowed to pay such low wages that employees are basically required to get government handouts and welfare to survive, which you pay for.

Not to mention they destroy local and small businesses, which is/was the biggest driver of middle class wealth. They are anti-union and anti-workers rights. They are everything wrong with the USA. Sell out your neighbors and fellow citizens, give an already far overreaching government more reasons to tax you, and to boot, prop up a communist government thousands of miles away that is completely destroying the environment.

Seems worth it for a $2 shirt to me. Maybe your child can grow up to be a factory worker making $2 shirts for other people in a polluted city and then they can reflect on the choices of their parents, such as yourselves.

This is why I get many of my computer parts at Frys because it's on my way home. I still do my research online before going though because they often don't have what I need when it's more esoteric.

Their "promo code" deals are often excellent. Heck, I just bought TurboTax H&B at Costco yesterday, and today Fry's has it $6 cheaper.

I may be biased given that I've shopped at Fry's Electronics since their very first store, in a long-since-demolished, tiny former Fry's Grocery store on Oakmead.

I hate to have to tell you this, but there isn't really such thing as a $2 shirt, please hear me out.

The monetary cost to you, acting as a consumer is an incredible $6 or, $2 a shirt; However, as a citizen of earth, the environmental and social costs of buying cheap garments from places like Walmart is absolutely, shockingly enormous. [1][2]

It's just currently impossible to produce clothing at that price in an even slightly responsible way. Unfortunately, buying super cheap garments is really taking out a loan out against the future and that bonded or forced labour is probably involved. [3] If you're a documentary person, "The True Cost" is really worth watching. [7]

There is a few apps that can help people make informed choices before a purchase [4][5] and of course, great brands like Patagonia [6] who make quality clothing in a responsible way.

There are also amazingly good quality items in second hand stores around the world too, I know there can be some stigma attached to second hand clothing, but it's only stigma, it wears off quickly and no one knows you have a second hand shirt on.

I have a friend who works at a second hand store, which is part of franchise, and there are a lot good quality, safe items in surplus around the world waiting to be worn again.

[1] http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/introduction-t...

[2] http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/introduction-t...

[3] http://labourbehindthelabel.net/campaigns/living-wage/

[4] http://goodonyou.org.au/

[5] https://rankabrand.org/

[6] http://www.patagonia.com

[7] http://truecostmovie.com/

I like recycled better than new myself, but there is an ultimate solution:

http://goflorida.about.com/cs/floridabeaches/a/nude_guide.ht...

Often for some folks anything worn represents a costume.

the environmental and social costs of buying cheap garments from places like Walmart is absolutely, shockingly enormous.

I looked at your first link and to be honest, it seems like we have a lot more important environmental issues to address.

I wondered how long this would take...

So you already know about these issues, but you just go ahead and buy the items anyway?

Not OP, but I understand his/her position.

I usually buy my clothes at Uniqlo or Zara. As much as I'd like to do the right thing instead, I can't justify paying the massive premium for boutique and artisan stuff manufactured in western regions, except the occasional specific premium item, like a Rapha or Outlier jacket. In OP's case those are clothes for a small child, that will outgrow them quickly, which makes the cheap option even more attractive.

What about relatives with older children, used clothes stores or flea markets? Childen's clothes are a very good fit for reuse since they are worn for a short time. Also I'd be suspicious about toxins or artificial hormones in cheap clothes. Would likely be safer to have high quality certified and checked and tested ones.

Isn't the point here that you are paying for them, just not in a way that the market is currently able to include in the price?

I'm rural and I just use Amazon Prime rather than ever stepping foot in a Walmart.

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