Walmart’s decision to close 51 health centers across five states will also shutter tele-health services, but the retail leader has also unveiled digital expansions in other areas.
Rising operating costs and a complicated reimbursement structure spelled the end of the healthcare experiment after five years, although pharmacies and vision centers will remain part of many Walmart stores, the company said.
In expansion-related news for Walmart digital offerings, flower retailer UrbanStems will partner with Walmart’s GoLocal delivery service ahead of Mother’s Day. UrbanStems customers in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and Chicago can utilize the GoLocal delivery option. UrbanStems offers other same-day delivery options in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Sur La Table, Books-A-Million and Home Depot have also recently announced delivery partnerships with GoLocal.
Deliveries from Walmart stores also got a boost with extra hours. Deliveries will now run until midnight instead of 10pm. The expansion follows the March announcement of a 6am early-morning delivery option.
For those who prefer their delivery by air, it’s a good time to be in Dallas. Walmart, in coordination with drone service Wing, will offer drone delivery from four stores in the DFW metro area, up from two stores. The expansion will put 75 percent of the mero area within reach, according to Walmart.
The retailer also offers drone delivery programs from Wing, DroneUp, Flytrex and Zipline in certain markets throughout the US.
Walmart has also gone digital with an expanded presence in immersive gaming platform Reblox. Players can now make purchases from Walmart within the Roblox universe, and customer avatars can wear or use digital ‘twins’ to Walmart products purchased either online or in the real world using the linked account.
Sam’s Club is also on the digital expansion bandwagon, as a new AI feature will check purchases against receipts without human intervention.
The feature, first piloted in January, uses computer vision and digital tech to compare the contents of an exiting cart to the payments made through the Scan and Go no-touch checkout. The technology reduces checkout time by 23 percent, according to Sam’s Club officials.
It will be deployed to all Sam’s Club locations in the US by the end of 2024.
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