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> I can order online and get free in-store pickup this will be a game changer for me. Big time. The day when I order online, check-in on my mobile app in the p

> I can order online and get free in-store pickup this will be a game changer for me. Big time. The day when I order online, check-in on my mobile app in the parking lot, pull up to the delivery dock, Johnny comes out with a box of my stuff and puts it in my trunk, and I drive off. That will be my nirvana. I have mild social anxiety, but walmart, for some reason, amplifies it considerably. Grocery stores too. Partly because I dont do proper meal planning/shopping planning, but partly because it just feels so inefficient to wade around the store and just feeling...handicapped ? Like, I just want to get my things and go, but ther'es always something impeding me: forgetting items, people in the way, employees restocking shelves during busy hours, long lines, bottlenecks at the one exit, etc. Drive-thru supermarkets/walmarts/amazon pickup is going to change the world.

praneshp 10y ago
Target kinda sorta does this. Checkout curbside pickup. Hopefully your shopping experience gets better in the future.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
adrianN 10y ago
I combat shopping anxiety by not making any plans what to buy and just strolling through the shop looking at the items and putting things that look tasty in my cart. Sometimes I forget important items, but usually it works out well. Treating shopping more like exploring the offers and less like checking things off a mental list makes it less stressful for me. Unfortunately this doesn't work when I actually need a specific item like a pair of jeans or something like that.
- digler999 10y ago
  I've found that going on my lunch break helps. I buy stuff for lunch, sometimes stuff for dinner, while I'm already in "work mode" and energized, vs going after work when I'm tired. The stores aren't that crowded at lunch time either.
stepanhruda 10y ago
Why is this not a step back from getting the stuff delivered in the first place?
- digler999 10y ago
  I see it more as a secondary option. The primary reason being, if everything's in stock, I should be able to get it today, with maybe a 1-2 hr waiting time. If I want shrimp pasta tonight, I can order the ingredients at lunch break, and pick up on my way home. Other reasons could be people have poor delivery from their UPS driver, stolen packages, some people prefer not having people come to their door, some people feel empowered by going out and getting what they want, when they want to get it. The biggest reason could be that it's ultimately a lower price for everyone, assuming its cheaper to hire junior employees to walk the store and pick my groceries vs hiring a driver and a truck to take the stuff to everyones door (plus someone to do all the picking).
  - stepanhruda 10y ago
    All of these seem like solvable problems. E.g. in Manhattan Prime Now can already deliver within 1-2 hours. Stolen packages can be catered by drop-off safeboxes in houses/buildings. Job specialization should win in the end - a delivery person with an efficient route is going to be cheaper than the sum of everyone picking their stuff up.
- yabatopia 10y ago
  Exactly. Can't an Uber driver pick it up for me and deliver it to my house?
- res0nat0r 10y ago
  The Kroger grocery chain by my house just started offering this and it is super popular. Folks can come by after picking up their kids and get their groceries dropped in their car off the side of the building without leaving the car. All for a flat 4.95$
  - digler999 10y ago
jinglebells 10y ago
That's how Click And Collect works in the UK
Jemmeh 10y ago
That's what Walmart Grocery is. It's really neat. You order online and schedule a pickup for a day or two later. You pull up, call, and they bring it out to your car and load it up. It doesn't cost anything extra. I actually don't live in that big of a town, and yet it's available. I was surprised. If you'd like to use my referral link we each get $10 off the next order. http://r.wmt.co/e0nUh http://r.wmt.co/e0nUh
sytelus 10y ago
Wouldn't it be even more game changer if stuff was just delivered to you at your doorstep :). I'm not sure if other people have seen this but these days I'm able to buy tons of stuff from Amazon delivered within 24 hours for free. And guess who is delivering these? Its not UPS or FedEx. I often see normal people in normal cars doing it. Amazon is essentially trying to turn all these people with cars in to delivery service so you don't have to stop at store and checking with mobile app and wait for Jonny to come out with box of your stuff.
- digler999 10y ago
  That would be wonderful. I guess for some reason I just assumed it would be a luxury. If groceries for one guy for 3 days cost $45 purchased in-store, I'd definitely be comfortable paying $5 more to have someone pick and bag it for me. But I wouldn't pay much more than $10 for doorstep delivery, even though grocery shopping is a stressful experience for me. I live in the 'burbs and I drive every day anyway. To me, the pain isn't the driving (though for some urban areas I'm sure it is), it's just the hassle of parking and shopping in a crowded, inefficient store (wasting my time), and hauling all my stuff back to the car. I think theres a deeper psychological issue at play here too: delivered to your door makes you passive, at the "mercy" or whim of the company/person making the delivery. There's a subconscious anxiety associated with waiting in anticipation. Whereas, going out and picking up makes you the active one. Sure the store could make you wait, but if they design their system properly, "ready for pickup" should mean just that. But "out for delivery" could me 5m or 3 hours from now.
  - vidarh 10y ago
    In the UK most supermarket chains have delivery, with charges in the ~5 pound region ($6 or so), but most also have Prime like subscriptions. E.g. I pay about $110/year to get my shopping delivered from Ocado - this includes unlimited "free" deliveries of orders above $50. Since we take delivery once a week, it adds up to just a bit above $2/delivery. Best part is the convenience: We've set it up to deliver once a week, and so every week the day after the previous delivery they create a new order and we can edit it in their app or on their website, and optionally you can set it to auto-populate your order based on your shopping history, and they get it "close enough" that often we don't bother even checking the order (this week, for example, I didn't) and we know we'll get something that's "close enough" that worst case we'll pick up the odd thing extra when we're out anyway sometime during the week. They deliver within the same 1 hour slot every week (unless we change it; if we do, they will show us when they have a car in the area if we want to try to be more eco-friendly, but won't put any restrictions on us if they have capacity), and it's very rare or them to miss it - when they do, the driver will call and explain why and give us updates. If they're able to deliver early, they'll call and ask, and if necessary (if we're out etc.) they'll do other deliveries first if they can or worst case sit and wait to deliver within the agreed time slot. They'll carry everything into your kitchen if you wish, or wherever you want them to, and everything comes in colour-coded bags for freezer, fridge, and cabinets. The receipt list everything by minimum guaranteed use-by dates. The precision in delivery makes all the difference. I rarely go into grocery stores any more, and I don't miss it.
vmarsy 10y ago
> Drive-thru supermarkets/walmarts/amazon pickup is going to change the world. you probably mean change the USA, in France for instance, drive-thru supermarkets exists since at least 5 years [1][2] They now even have some new 24/7 pick up locations, which is a big deal for France where there is no 24/7 stores. There, your food just waits for you in a refrigerated/freezer lock box [3]. I'm actually surprised this is not already a common thing in the USA, which invented drive-thru fast foods 70 years ago. [1] https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanouvellerepublique.fr%2FIndre%2FActualite%2FEconomie-social%2Fn%2FContenus%2FArticles%2F2012%2F01%2F10%2FIntermarche-lance-son-drive&edit-text= https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev... [2] https://drive.intermarche.com/Carte https://drive.intermarche.com/Carte (look for the icons of a car with the trunk open) [3] https://drive.intermarche.com/Content/images/prehome/pdv/drive24.png https://drive.intermarche.com/Content/images/prehome/pdv/dri...
- Shivetya 10y ago
  Oddly I recall drive through quick marts/etc and liquor/beer places all over Ohio. I wonder if there are just laws against it in certain states?
  - angstrom 10y ago
    I don't know there's any laws, but if there were I'd think Oregon and New Jersey would require it since they already do that for pumping gasoline.
  - yardie 10y ago
    We use to have drive through convenience stores in Florida called the Farm Store. They were useful, but impractical for any big shopping. I just can't see someone trying to hand over a gallon of milk, 4kg, through a car window. Beer, cigarettes and junk food were their forté.
- angstrom 10y ago
  Drive-thu pickup exists, but it's not widespread. Where I grew up in Ohio there's a chain that has had grocery loading since at least the 80s. You drive up, give them a number and they put the groceries in your trunk.

praneshp 10y ago

Target kinda sorta does this. Checkout curbside pickup. Hopefully your shopping experience gets better in the future.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

adrianN 10y ago

I combat shopping anxiety by not making any plans what to buy and just strolling through the shop looking at the items and putting things that look tasty in my cart. Sometimes I forget important items, but usually it works out well. Treating shopping more like exploring the offers and less like checking things off a mental list makes it less stressful for me. Unfortunately this doesn't work when I actually need a specific item like a pair of jeans or something like that.

digler999 10y ago
I've found that going on my lunch break helps. I buy stuff for lunch, sometimes stuff for dinner, while I'm already in "work mode" and energized, vs going after work when I'm tired. The stores aren't that crowded at lunch time either.

stepanhruda 10y ago

Why is this not a step back from getting the stuff delivered in the first place?

digler999 10y ago
I see it more as a secondary option. The primary reason being, if everything's in stock, I should be able to get it today, with maybe a 1-2 hr waiting time. If I want shrimp pasta tonight, I can order the ingredients at lunch break, and pick up on my way home. Other reasons could be people have poor delivery from their UPS driver, stolen packages, some people prefer not having people come to their door, some people feel empowered by going out and getting what they want, when they want to get it. The biggest reason could be that it's ultimately a lower price for everyone, assuming its cheaper to hire junior employees to walk the store and pick my groceries vs hiring a driver and a truck to take the stuff to everyones door (plus someone to do all the picking).
- stepanhruda 10y ago
  All of these seem like solvable problems. E.g. in Manhattan Prime Now can already deliver within 1-2 hours. Stolen packages can be catered by drop-off safeboxes in houses/buildings. Job specialization should win in the end - a delivery person with an efficient route is going to be cheaper than the sum of everyone picking their stuff up.
yabatopia 10y ago
Exactly. Can't an Uber driver pick it up for me and deliver it to my house?
res0nat0r 10y ago
The Kroger grocery chain by my house just started offering this and it is super popular. Folks can come by after picking up their kids and get their groceries dropped in their car off the side of the building without leaving the car. All for a flat 4.95$
- digler999 10y ago

jinglebells 10y ago

That's how Click And Collect works in the UK

Jemmeh 10y ago

That's what Walmart Grocery is. It's really neat. You order online and schedule a pickup for a day or two later. You pull up, call, and they bring it out to your car and load it up. It doesn't cost anything extra. I actually don't live in that big of a town, and yet it's available. I was surprised. If you'd like to use my referral link we each get $10 off the next order. http://r.wmt.co/e0nUh http://r.wmt.co/e0nUh

sytelus 10y ago

Wouldn't it be even more game changer if stuff was just delivered to you at your doorstep :). I'm not sure if other people have seen this but these days I'm able to buy tons of stuff from Amazon delivered within 24 hours for free. And guess who is delivering these? Its not UPS or FedEx. I often see normal people in normal cars doing it. Amazon is essentially trying to turn all these people with cars in to delivery service so you don't have to stop at store and checking with mobile app and wait for Jonny to come out with box of your stuff.

digler999 10y ago
That would be wonderful. I guess for some reason I just assumed it would be a luxury. If groceries for one guy for 3 days cost $45 purchased in-store, I'd definitely be comfortable paying $5 more to have someone pick and bag it for me. But I wouldn't pay much more than $10 for doorstep delivery, even though grocery shopping is a stressful experience for me. I live in the 'burbs and I drive every day anyway. To me, the pain isn't the driving (though for some urban areas I'm sure it is), it's just the hassle of parking and shopping in a crowded, inefficient store (wasting my time), and hauling all my stuff back to the car. I think theres a deeper psychological issue at play here too: delivered to your door makes you passive, at the "mercy" or whim of the company/person making the delivery. There's a subconscious anxiety associated with waiting in anticipation. Whereas, going out and picking up makes you the active one. Sure the store could make you wait, but if they design their system properly, "ready for pickup" should mean just that. But "out for delivery" could me 5m or 3 hours from now.
- vidarh 10y ago
  In the UK most supermarket chains have delivery, with charges in the ~5 pound region ($6 or so), but most also have Prime like subscriptions. E.g. I pay about $110/year to get my shopping delivered from Ocado - this includes unlimited "free" deliveries of orders above $50. Since we take delivery once a week, it adds up to just a bit above $2/delivery. Best part is the convenience: We've set it up to deliver once a week, and so every week the day after the previous delivery they create a new order and we can edit it in their app or on their website, and optionally you can set it to auto-populate your order based on your shopping history, and they get it "close enough" that often we don't bother even checking the order (this week, for example, I didn't) and we know we'll get something that's "close enough" that worst case we'll pick up the odd thing extra when we're out anyway sometime during the week. They deliver within the same 1 hour slot every week (unless we change it; if we do, they will show us when they have a car in the area if we want to try to be more eco-friendly, but won't put any restrictions on us if they have capacity), and it's very rare or them to miss it - when they do, the driver will call and explain why and give us updates. If they're able to deliver early, they'll call and ask, and if necessary (if we're out etc.) they'll do other deliveries first if they can or worst case sit and wait to deliver within the agreed time slot. They'll carry everything into your kitchen if you wish, or wherever you want them to, and everything comes in colour-coded bags for freezer, fridge, and cabinets. The receipt list everything by minimum guaranteed use-by dates. The precision in delivery makes all the difference. I rarely go into grocery stores any more, and I don't miss it.

vmarsy 10y ago

> Drive-thru supermarkets/walmarts/amazon pickup is going to change the world. you probably mean change the USA, in France for instance, drive-thru supermarkets exists since at least 5 years [1][2] They now even have some new 24/7 pick up locations, which is a big deal for France where there is no 24/7 stores. There, your food just waits for you in a refrigerated/freezer lock box [3]. I'm actually surprised this is not already a common thing in the USA, which invented drive-thru fast foods 70 years ago. [1] https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanouvellerepublique.fr%2FIndre%2FActualite%2FEconomie-social%2Fn%2FContenus%2FArticles%2F2012%2F01%2F10%2FIntermarche-lance-son-drive&edit-text= https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev... [2] https://drive.intermarche.com/Carte https://drive.intermarche.com/Carte (look for the icons of a car with the trunk open) [3] https://drive.intermarche.com/Content/images/prehome/pdv/drive24.png https://drive.intermarche.com/Content/images/prehome/pdv/dri...

Shivetya 10y ago
Oddly I recall drive through quick marts/etc and liquor/beer places all over Ohio. I wonder if there are just laws against it in certain states?
- angstrom 10y ago
  I don't know there's any laws, but if there were I'd think Oregon and New Jersey would require it since they already do that for pumping gasoline.
- yardie 10y ago
  We use to have drive through convenience stores in Florida called the Farm Store. They were useful, but impractical for any big shopping. I just can't see someone trying to hand over a gallon of milk, 4kg, through a car window. Beer, cigarettes and junk food were their forté.
angstrom 10y ago
Drive-thu pickup exists, but it's not widespread. Where I grew up in Ohio there's a chain that has had grocery loading since at least the 80s. You drive up, give them a number and they put the groceries in your trunk.