Walmart Plans Estimated $87.5 Million in Illinois Store Improvements, Innovations in 2019

Walmart expects to spend an estimated $87.5 million this year in Illinois through the remodeling of 16 stores, as well as the launch and continued expansion of several customer-focused innovations.
Walmart expects to spend an estimated $87.5 million this year in Illinois through the remodeling of 16 stores, as well as the launch and continued expansion of several customer-focused innovations.

Walmart Plans Estimated $87.5 Million in Illinois Store Improvements, Innovations in 2019

Walmart expects to spend an estimated $87.5 million this year in Illinois through the remodeling of 16 stores, as well as the launch and continued expansion of several customer-focused innovations.

Walmart will continue to innovate to help customers save time and money by creating a seamless shopping experience that gives them the options to shop when, where and how they want. Examples of customer-focused innovations that will be expanded this year in Illinois include grocery pickup, grocery delivery, and Walmart Pickup Towers, which are 16-feet tall, high-tech vending machines capable of fulfilling a customer’s online order in less than a minute once they arrive at the store. Once the order is ready, customers step up to the Pickup Tower and scan the barcode which is sent to your smartphone to retrieve your item. This year, Walmart plans to add 22 Pickup Towers to stores across Illinois.

The company also recently introduced Walmart Voice Order, which allows customers to simply say “Hey Google, talk to Walmart” and the Google Assistant will add items directly to their Walmart Grocery cart.

Also, a new system in Walmart backrooms – known as FAST –automatically scans and sorts items that come off trucks based on priority and department, allowing associates to spend less time unloading in the backroom and more time on the sales floor with customers. This year, Walmart plans to expand the technology to 50 stores in Illinois.

Other innovations include the autonomous floor scrubber which uses assisted autonomy technology to perform the task of cleaning and scrubbing the concrete floors in stores. The company plans to expand the technology to 52 stores across Illinois this year.

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