This One Thing Is Disappearing From 300 Walmart Stores
The retailer confirmed that it is already phasing this out.
With around 5,000 stores in the U.S., Walmart has become a retailer customers know and trust. After all, you can enter practically any Walmart store in the nation and be pretty certain of what you're going to find. But the retailer is also always trying to change and evolve to best meet customers' needs. And unfortunately, that means something may soon be missing from your local Walmart store. Read on to find out what Walmart is getting rid of, and for things disappearing from stores, These 4 Beloved Foods Are Disappearing From Grocery Shelves, Experts Warn.
Walmart is removing 300 pickup towers from stores.
When it comes to picking up your online orders from Walmart, you might not be going inside the store to do so anymore. About 300 pickup towers are being removed from inside Walmart stores, Larry Blue, the chief executive of Bell & Howell, the automation services company that installed and maintains the machines for the company, told The Wall Street Journal on April 21. According to Blue, the retailer has started to remove or turn off the machines over the past year. And for more Walmart news, If You Bought This at Walmart, the FDA Says Stop Using It Immediately.
This is part of a larger phase out of the machines.
Walmart first added these pickup towers—which are like large vending machines that dispense online orders to customers—in stores in 2017, according to USA Today. They were placed in more than 1,500 Walmart stores. According to Blue, the nearly 1,300 machines not being removed are still "hibernated," or not in use, because the removal is part of a larger plan to phase out the automated pickup towers completely. However, some of these towers may be repurposed, as sources told the WSJ that Walmart is considering how the company could use the pickup towers that haven't been removed differently in the future. And for more disappearing retail, These 3 Beloved Clothing Brands Just Filed for Bankruptcy.
Customers can still pick up online orders outside.
The removal of these indoor pickup towers is a result of curbside pickup becoming more popular during the pandemic. Sources told the WSJ that executives believe it makes less sense to offer multiple ways to pick up online orders inside stores as the company has been expanding the types of products shoppers can get curbside or delivered. "The customer told us they want one pickup spot, and they want that pickup spot to be outside," a Walmart spokeswoman told WSJ. And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
This is not the only thing disappearing from Walmart stores.
This is not the only thing disappearing from inside Walmart's stores, however. If you're looking for a particular fast food establishment, you may be disappointed. Walmart confirmed to the WSJ that it is planning to close hundreds of McDonald's within its stores. Only around 150 McDonald's stores are expected to remain in Walmart locations by the end of the summer. However, USA Today reported that the retailer has already started to fill up some of these spaces with other restaurants, like Taco Bell, Domino's, and Charleys Philly Steaks. And for more on this phase out, discover Why This One Thing Is Disappearing From Walmarts Nationwide.
