Quote :

"Wal-Mart Stores has set up an “online” brick-and-mortar store at a mall in San Diego where Wal-Mart salespeople help customers order merchandise from walmart.com. Shoppers at the California store are directed to computers where they order goods. The store showcases popular products such as toys, electronics and home theater products, but they aren’t for sale. Wal-Mart will test the store through December."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wal-mart-tests-small-online-showcase-stores-2011-11-07

Saw this the other day when I was headed into the gym downtown. WTF people need help shopping online?

[Edited on November 9, 2011 at 1:35 AM. Reason : didn't have time to drop in to see what this was all about.]

11/9/2011 1:34:46 AM

I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the conference room where this idea was born


they would have heard the world's tiniest

11/9/2011 1:38:08 AM

This is a golden idea, girl.

11/9/2011 1:41:29 AM

luckily it's downtown, so i never risk having to see this place.

11/9/2011 2:31:37 AM

^ Horton Plaza. That Mall is a nightmare to navigate.

11/9/2011 2:45:19 AM

Quote :

"WTF people need help shopping online?"

You've obviously never met the majority of the American population.

Also, this isn't a terrible idea and I expect to see Amazon try something similar eventually. The only question is can they convince enough of the online shopper holdovers to come in and buy to make it profitable.

11/9/2011 6:43:49 AM

it's free computer lessons for people of wal-mart. i doubt san diego gets the same winners as a north carolina wal-mart, though i could be wrong.

11/9/2011 6:47:55 AM

Quote :

"at the California store "

This explains it all. Bunch of stupid fucking hippies with fried brains.

11/9/2011 7:12:54 AM

it's for people who wouldn't be caught dead stepping foot inside a real WalMart

11/9/2011 7:20:43 AM

Quote :

"Also, this isn't a terrible idea and I expect to see Amazon try something similar eventually."

I could see Amazon doing something like this but the primary function of the brick and mortar store would just be to accept returns. A place you can go to return online purchases without incurring shipping costs. And if you want to order an exchange item while you're there, or if you just want to stroll in and buy something online all the better.

As a place dedicated to making online orders? Save yourself some money and make a tax deductible contribution to libraries to have them put a Wal-Mart sticker on their internet access computers and make a huge link to Wal-Mart.com on the library's home page.

[Edited on November 9, 2011 at 7:23 AM. Reason : -]

11/9/2011 7:21:03 AM

Quote :

"I could see Amazon doing something like this but the primary function of the brick and mortar store would just be to accept returns. A place you can go to return online purchases without incurring shipping costs. And if you want to order an exchange item while you're there, or if you just want to stroll in and buy something online all the better."

That would be nice.

11/9/2011 8:13:28 AM

I don't think this has hit the east coast yet.

11/9/2011 8:37:43 AM

It allows walmart to have a presence in a space limited area, like a mall. Since they don't have to store or display inventory, the overhead costs would be much lower. If they can get a lot more walk in foot traffic, I could see it being profitable.

11/9/2011 8:44:09 AM

I could see it as getting around towns/areas that don't want the stigma of a Wal-Mart (whatever that is), or that don't want to give land to a giant Wal-Mart.

I think it'll lose the appeal of a giant store that has just about everything available immediately.

"I'm going to the store, need anything in a few days?"

11/9/2011 8:49:37 AM

This isn't even a new concept. Sears had catalog stores for ages. I feel like there's still one down near Topsail.

11/9/2011 8:57:02 AM

Amazon will never do this because their biggest draw is no state sales tax.

11/9/2011 8:59:15 AM

wal-mart.com is often cheaper than wal-mart store prices

even w/ shipping

11/9/2011 9:05:24 AM

I wonder if you can do ship to store in these walmart.com shops and avoid paying shipping altogether.

11/9/2011 9:10:45 AM

Eh it makes it possible for people with no smartphones to price match against wal-mart while shopping in the mall.

11/9/2011 9:31:22 AM

They better have some strong porno blockers on those computers, because Walmart folks will have no problem masturbating in full view of the public.

11/9/2011 9:34:43 AM

Quote :

"They better have some strong porno blockers on those computers, because Walmart folks will have no problem masturbating in full view of the public."

Quote :

"STRONG PORNO BLOCKERS"

11/9/2011 10:56:04 AM

reminds me of the ebay store on 40 yr old virgin

11/9/2011 11:01:33 AM

^ They have one of those in downtown Raleigh lol.

11/9/2011 11:17:30 AM

They already have brick-and-mortar locations for Wal-Mart.com. Around here, we call them "Wal-Marts".

I guess I understand what they are going for (Wal-Mart shopping in a location that can't accomidate a full-scale store), but something seems off in the execution of this idea...

11/9/2011 12:24:18 PM

That's just... weird.

11/9/2011 12:26:16 PM

if I want to shop online, the whole point is not to leave my house / office to do it. If I'm going to the store to shop, better be leaving with something that day.

11/9/2011 1:38:38 PM

Quote :

"WTF people need help shopping online?"

you'd be surprised at how many people still can't understand the internet.

fortunately for them, these are also the people who are more likely to spend money on the internet.

11/9/2011 1:40:40 PM

^^Again, I would 'assume' that the purpose of this kind of store is so they could put a Wal-Mart location in smaller locations in strip malls and urban areas. The idea of supporting a smaller footprint is a good one, but you're right.... I'd want to leave the store with something in my hand.

11/9/2011 2:05:02 PM

what is going to happen is they will eventually start renting the internet to poor people.

Sam Walton's company is dickish.

11/9/2011 2:05:54 PM