Walmart Tests Online Grocery Pickup for EBT Users

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is testing an initiative that allows customers using EBT benefits to use its click-and-collect service for grocery purchases.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer now is testing Online Grocery Pickup in one Houston-area store and four more around Boise, Idaho. It plans to bring the service to customers using EBT benefits in markets through and beyond the holiday season.

“Who doesn’t want to save time? Find an easier way to check things off their to-do lists? Let’s say there is a solution out there, but it’s available only to some people, not all of them, and it’s dictated by the way you pay,” Walmart said on its website. “We say: not anymore.”

Originally piloted four years ago in Denver, the free service enables customers to order groceries online and pick them up at their local Walmart store without leaving their cars. Customers have access to more than 40,000 items through the service, including fresh produce and meat, pantry staples, and seasonal items.

Earlier this month, Walmart opened its 1,000th Online Grocery Pickup location, in Seattle, where it also unveiled locations No. 995 through No. 999. More than 400 locations this year alone have been activated.