Ordering system virtual, but this tower isn’t
New Walmart tool lets shoppers pick up items
As part of a remodeling, Walmart has added a 16-foot tower inside a supercenter in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley where customers can pickup online orders.
The pickup tower is housed at the Las Vegas Walmart Supercenter at 5200 S. Fort Apache Road, near Hacienda Avenue.
The tower, nicknamed “Rapunzel,” debuted on Sept. 1, according to the store’s Facebook account. It is the first tower on the West Coast.
The tower can store about 300 items. When a customer places an order online, a store employee adds the item to the tower, and the customer scans a smartphone at the tower to retrieve the purchase, according to a Walmart statement Wednesday.
The remodeling also includes:
■ An updated electronics department where customers can try laptops and other devices before purchase.
■ An expanded sporting goods department.
■ An updated pharmacy with a new consultation room.
■ Brighter lighting in the produce department.
■ An updated Moneycenter for financial services.
Walmart received a building permit for the project in June. The permit details $1.06 million worth of work on the roof and interior of the 224,000-square-foot store.
This year grocery chains have made many investments in the valley as they try to compete better through combined brick-and-mortar and online services.
In August, Amazon closed its purchase of Whole Foods. Grocery chain Smith’s announced that eight local stores will offer home delivery for online orders.
In July, Walmart announced five stores that will allow customers to order online and have employees bring groceries to their cars at pickup, not to mention millions of dollars invested in remodeling Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across the valley.
Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-4602. Follow @ wademillward on Twitter.