Walmart Will Roll Out Pickup Towers to 500 More Locations

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is rapidly expanding its online order pickup program by adding Pickup Towers to more than 500 locations across the United States. This will bring the total number to more than 700 by the end of 2018.

Once the expansion is complete, Pickup Towers will be available to nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population, Walmart posted on its website.

The Pickup Towers, which first launched in 2016, are automated kiosks that hold hundreds of packages. To retrieve an online order, customers must scan a barcode on a purchase receipt. A door on the kiosk then opens, and their item or items roll out on a conveyor belt.

Based on feedback, the new towers will come with Walmart's Pickup Lockers, which allow customers to pick up larger items, such as televisions, as well as smaller items.

Additional programs that the retail giant is offering with the expanded pickup service include Online Grocery Pickup, Pickup Discount, Mobile Express Scan & Go, its growing grocery delivery service, and a new partnership with Google Express.

It is also testing additional concepts that would improve the process of picking up online orders in the future, the company said.