Save time and money shopping on line.
Save time and money, shop online
Save time and money shopping online. Shopping online can alleviate a lot of frustration.
Shopping online can be so frugal you can save time and money
The frustration of the weekly grocery shopping trip… Weekly??? Ha! Some of you hit the store 2 or 3 (maybe more) times a week. You know what I’m talking about. You may or may not particularly abhor the idea of shopping trips, but they do become pure drudgery when you have in tow an unwilling spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. And what about keeping unhappy or over energetic children corralled? Every ten seconds you’re saying, “Put that back,” or you’re chasing down an escapee. And by the way, have any of you experienced the fun (embarrassment) you can have with a toddler who habitually disrobes every time you spend a minute comparing product brands?
Of course, all this is going on when your focus really needs to be on your shopping list. (You did make one—and remember to bring it, didn’t you?) WhooHoo! It makes for quite a trip, and you are going to do it over and over and over.
As if the shopping process isn’t enough. Once you’ve gathered (hopefully) everything you need, there’s still the checkout line to endure. Invariably you’ll arrive at the front of the store to find all lines are full of people just as anxious as you to pay and leave. And the wait begins. You and everybody else in line are in a hurry, but the person operating the cash register isn’t, and it shows. To be fair, the register operators do have a whole shift to work. They must feel the need pace themselves… For the rest of us frustration sets in. And remember, we still have our others (young or old) who now have nothing to give their attention to. (And we thought we were frustrated.) How long can this possibly take? It feels like forever.
Maybe, that’s too much drama for one post. Let’s take a calmer approach: I think most of us could say, “I can find something better to do with my time than going grocery shopping.” I can live with that. Grocery shopping takes up time that could be spent on a project (maybe sleeping?), recreating, or have quality interaction with happy people (young or old).
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could place an order, have someone else fetch your groceries for you and deliver them to your car? That would be a dream, right? WRONG!
Walmart’s “Store pick up” does just that and it will save you time and money
The first thing I want to say is that I’m not selling Walmart, but theirs is the service I researched and tested. I found it to be very satisfactory. There are many other stores that provide the same or similar convince. If you have a favorite grocery store, it’s simple matter of checking the internet to see what they offer. If it looks interesting, give it a try. You’re not required to be a repeat customer.
As far as trying Walmart’s pickup system, you’ll need to verify it’s available in your area. That’s done by zip code. Click here to learn if your local Walmart participates in the pickup program.
If the service is available, you’ll need to open an account. I’ll go only briefly into that process: Once you’re on the website is there is a login section in the top right hand corner of the screen. If you click on it, you can create a new account from there. It’s really self-explanatory.
So, without grueling detail, here’s what you do:
Verify the service is available in your area
Go online and set up your account
Shop the Walmart site and place your order
Go to Walmart and pick up your order
Go home and put groceries away
On second thought, a little more detail could be helpful.
As I had said earlier in this post, you need to verify the service is available your area
I’m including a link to Walmart’s site to make this easy.
url for Walmart
Set up your account
Just follow the directions in the registration area on the webpage. Note: You’ll have to designate how you’ll be paying: Credit card, Debit card, or Cash. If you choose either of the first two, you’ll include the appropriate information when you set up your account. Your card will be charged each time an order is completed (At the time of this writing, Walmart doesn’t have a service charge for this.) If you choose to pay cash, you’ll have to go to Customer Service in the store and pay before your order will be released. (But, after you pay, Walmart will still bring your order out to your vehicle.)
Go online and shop Walmart to save time and money
Walmart provides a website from which you may to choose what you want to purchase. You can make you selections by department or by item. For example, if you want a gallon of milk, go to the search bar and type in the brand of milk you want to purchase. All of your choice(s) will appear. You could also have entered “milk” or “dairy” and with a few more clicks arrived at the same placed. The website includes the price according to how much of the item you order. There will be pictures so you can tell how your cost is determined—by multiples of a single item, by the pound, or by the package. Also, the pricing on the site gives you all the information you would find if you were to look at a shelf label in the store: price, price per serving, and price per smallest unit. Select an item you want, and it’s added to your list (or you could say grocery cart). Then you can move on to the next item. By the way, if you order from home, you won’t have to wonder if you’re forgetting something or already have more than enough. You’re right there and can check.
When you have finished shopping go thru the checkout procedure on the webpage.
Walmart does their part to save you time and money
The store will have an associate gather the items on your order. When your order has been assembled (picked), you will receive an email or text notifying you that your order is ready. (The choice of email or text is yours. When you open your account, you’ll designate which you prefer, but you can change that anytime.) Note: When you get to the store, park in the area designated for pick up.
You’ll appreciate knowing that Walmart will keep your various food products at the correct temperature until you picked them up.
Go to your Walmart and pick up your groceries
Once you receive the notice your order is ready, you drive to Walmart and call the number provided to you in the text or email. An associate will bring your groceries to your car and load them for you. (The exception to this is as I noted before: If you have opted to pay cash, you’ll have to go into Customer Service, pay, and return to your vehicle before your order can be brought out to you. Even if you pay cash you will save time and money. Time not having to shop and money shopping at Walmart.
Go home and put groceries away
Some things don’t change…
Things to know
1) If an item you order is not available (i.e. not in stock) Walmart will give you an upgrade to the next level. As an example: If you ordered a can of generic corn and they didn’t have any generic corn Walmart would automatically substitute a can of name brand corn, but they do not pass on the cost of the upgrade to you. You are charged the price of the generic corn.
2) If for some reason you are delayed and can’t pick up your order right away, Walmart will hold your order (individual items at proper temperature) for a couple of days. Eventually, they will restock the various items and cancel the order. You will not be charged, nor will your account be closed. (That’s a great perk, but one I wouldn’t want to abuse too often.)
The take away
Earlier, I said “shopping of line can be frugal”, because you can save time and money. If you normally shop from a big name grocery chain, you’ll probably find that Walmart carries many of the same items at a reduced price. If you order online with someone else doing the actual “shopping” and have your order delivered to you car, you can’t help but save time. Saving time and money is definitely.