SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Walmart stores throughout the Tampa Bay area are now offering personal shoppers. These employees will do the work for you – and it’s all free.
The personal shopping feature is part of a growing trend nationwide.
“It’s all about being convenient to our customer,” Walmart store manager Christina McFadden said.
Starting this week at Walmart stores in the Tampa Bay area, shoppers can access the entire store through an app and select the items they want. The personal shoppers will then gather the items.
“We train them to shop like they would shop for their own families,” McFadden said.
Grocery stores around the country are offering personal shopping. With increasing competition from sites like Amazon, brick-and-mortar stores are getting in on the act.
A recent survey conducted by Nielsen found more than half of global consumers are willing to buy groceries online.
The option isn’t just convenient. For some people, including Paula Stevens, it’s necessary. It’s difficult for Stevens to shop in a store.
“I needed to (shop online). I’m pretty much homebound. I get everything in the house that I can in the way of canned and box, but nobody was doing any fresh (groceries),” she said.
In addition to the personal shopping, Walmart has unveiled a new feature called “Walmart pay.” This allows shoppers to scan and pay for your groceries on their phones.
This week the new pickup service was unveiled at these stores:
- 5315 Cortez Road W., Bradenton
- 17000 Tamiami Trail, North Port
- 13140 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey
- 4150 Tamiami Trail S., Venice
These stores join two dozen other Florida Walmart stores that already offer online grocery pickup, including locations in Tampa and Orlando.