News reports in business
magazines said last week that Wal-Mart will be spending massive money next year to
update and modernize stores and beef up their on line ordering to compete more
with Amazon.
Tonight, by accident, I
stumbled into Wal-Mart's improved on line ordering and found it greatly improved. I needed
to get a special young girl’s bike helmet for my granddaughter’s birthday. I wanted a special color but no logos of
movie characters. Amazon only had 2 that came anywhere close to the
specifications I needed. Wal-Mart’s
website had 240 different bike helmets, and many were for children. They blew Amazon away in that category for me
tonight. I found one that fit the ideal specification.
Then, ordering was almost
easier than Amazon. I had a 2003 email
and password in my password book, and tried it, Wal-Mart still had it in their
computer and connected me to check out right away. That’s rarely true for 12 year old log-ins
and passwords on other websites. Then, WM charged no freight if I would pick it
up at my very-near-by Wal-Mart in 48 hours (which I could do very easily and WM
mailing it would miss the party date). Then, WM took PayPal for payment, that was
fast. On top of that, they offered to
text me when it hit the store for pickup if I would share by cell phone
number. But, fortunately, that was not a
requirement, and I didn’t give it to them for fear of future advertising text
messages? I was checked out with no
information other than PayPal and which Wal-Mart I wanted to use for the
pickup. That’s slick.
Considering the depth and
potential of Wal-Mart’s distribution, which probably rivals that of Amazon, and
Wal-Mart’s vast product selection (much more than in stores) they might become
a serious player in the new world of “retailing”.
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