My First Walmart.ca Grocery Pickup Order!

03/30/2017

This post is sponsored by Walmart Canada as part of the Walmart.ca Grocery Pickup program. In exchange for this post, I have received perks in the form of products and/or compensation. All opinions on this blog are my own.

Remember the lady who dreaded grocery shopping with her kids, who had to psych herself up in the mirror before leaving, who dealt with whining kids and impulse purchases as she shopped? That lady decided to order her groceries last week through Walmart.ca, and guess what? She saved money, time, and – most important of all – her sanity!

In my last post, I promised a review of Walmart.ca Grocery Pickup and the Walmart.ca App, so here it is:

Ordering Online

The kids finally tucked in their beds, and a glass of wine in hand, I turned on my laptop and navigated to Walmart.ca. I created a new account in a matter of seconds and used “Store Finder” to save my preferred store. I began shopping by clicking on “Shop Groceries.” I was quite surprised at how simple the whole process was. I shopped by category first, then used the search bar to search for specific items, like cheese strings and jam. Halfway through the process I noticed a “Shop Natural and Organic” button on the top of the page. I was delighted to find a sizable selection of organic produce and other products, including sour cream, yogurt, milk, and cream. I found Walmart’s pricing on organic products quite reasonable. I was able to buy more organic products for less than I had anticipated.

The whole system is intuitive.  As you shop, your cart is visible. You’re able to stay on-budget by seeing your order total as you shop. This makes removing or modifying the quantity of an item easy; simply click on the item and use the + or – button. 15 minutes later, I’d ordered a trunkful of groceries – meats, dairy, condiments, and produce – without leaving my house or involving my children. I contentedly finished my glass of wine as I chose my two-hour pickup time and entered my credit card information. I received a confirmation email with my pickup details right away.

Picking Up Your Order

I arrived the next day during my 2-hour pickup window and parked in one of the designated Walmart Pickup spots. I called the number on the sign to let them know I had arrived. Within minutes, a trio of friendly associates from the Walmart Pickup Team had arrived with my groceries. They loaded them into the trunk while I chilled in the front seat. They informed me of one substitution and made sure I was content with it. Once everything was loaded into the car, I signed electronically to say that I had received my grocery order. They thanked me for my order and gave me a bag full of samples – granola bars, tea, gummy candy, and popcorn – along with a $10 off coupon towards my next order. I thanked them profusely – they’d saved my sanity. Before I calmly drove home, I gave each kid a granola bar from our gift bag and they were quiet the whole way.

The Products

I love to control as much of my life as possible. I worry about this and that and most of the time I’d prefer to do it ALL myself – that way I know it’s done properly. The idea of someone else choosing my meats and produce gnawed at the control freak in me. I’m “Mom.” I’m the head of our house, the one who brings the kids to the doctor and dentist, who plans the meals for the week, who researches everything. What if the produce wasn’t fresh? Would it be possible for someone else to pick my groceries as well I could? The answer is yes.

I brought in my first Walmart.ca Grocery Pickup order and tentatively unloaded them, not knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. The fruits and vegetables were pristine. They were fresh, many still green and just starting to ripen. The turkey burgers and turkey sausages looked amazing – I cooked the sausages for lunch – and all of the dairy expiry dates were weeks away. I was impressed. I also noticed that they had labelled the bag with breakables “fragile” and had a label on the “substitutions” bag. The whole process had clearly been well thought out to avoid mix-ups.

The Nitty-Gritty

You can use Walmart.ca or the Walmart.ca App to order your groceries. The App is great for adding to your order when you’re not at home or near a computer. Your order must be a minimum of $50 dollars to qualify for pick-up. There is a small service fee of $3 per order that will be added to your total at check out.

Your grocery bill will never be higher than the amount you were quoted online. If any substitutions need to be made, they will replace it with a product of equal or greater value. For example, if you order a 12-pack of Coca Cola, but they’re out of 12 packs, they will substitute a 24-pack for the price of the 12. Pretty neat, huh?

I love that you can place your order weeks in advance – this is great for meal planners or for planning before you leave on vacation. You can keep adding to your order as the date approaches. You can also place an order before 11 a.m. and pick it up that same day.

Uncommon as they are, substitutions happen. You can choose which items in your order to allow a substitution for by checking or unchecking each product at checkout. Other than being out of blueberries, there was only one product that required a substitution.

What Are You Waiting For? 

Give it a try! Order at your leisure, wherever and whenever. Enjoy $10 off your Walmart.ca Grocery Pickup order with promo code PICKUP10. This offer expires May 31, 2017. Click on “My Account” to input your promo code once you’ve created your account.

I’d love to hear what you think of this service!

~chelsey