The Walmart of the future has arrived in Barrie and the company hopes it will offer customers a faster, safer and simpler shopping experience.
Barrie’s south-end location was part of the wide-ranging company investment that will not only help shoppers, but has created new in-store and trade/construction jobs.
Described as the 'omnichannel experience,' Walmart Canada is investing more than $110 million this year in store renovations and updgraded technology.
The work at the Walmart location on Mapleview Drive West was completed in September.
“We moved some departments, including the fresh department to provide a better customer shopping experience. We have better signage, brought in better lighting, with an updated colour palette to create a contemporary look and feel – all to create an enhanced shopping experience,” a company spokesperson told BarrieToday. “We also updated the customer service and pharmacy counters with enhanced aesthetics.”
New furniture was also added to the associate lounge and training room.
Walmart is adapting more square footage in some stores to serve as expanded space for both online delivery and pickup, which will allow associates to fill orders faster and ship them out more quickly.
The new 'omnichannel acceleration' undertaking is part of the major $3.5-billion investment over five years into all aspects of the retail giant's business. More than 130 store renovations, including at almost 20 locations this year, will take place over the next few years to make new space for e-commerce.
“The pick-up and drive-up is unique to the Vaughan location, but the (south-end) Barrie store has a very steady pickup business,” said the company official. “Customers order online and select a pick-up time slot. When they arrive at the store, they park in one of the designated pickup parking spots and their order is brought out and loaded into their vehicle. Customers are encouraged to use mobile check-in, but customers can also call the number provided.”
The south-end store employs 350 associates and hired both during after the renovations. They are in the process of hiring 25 to 30 more people.
Also being added to some Walmart Canada stores are an expansion of the grocery pick-up to approximately 270 stores (70 per cent of locations) by the end of 2020. They will be rolling out mobile check-in across the country. This includes reducing the minimum order value from $50 to $35 for free grocery pick-up, or a $9.97 fee for deliveries under that threshold.
