Amazon has made online shopping almost too easy: You can buy pretty much anything, from patio furniture to pet food, and have it delivered, in some cases, within two hours. Now brick-and-mortar retailers are finding .
, a technology reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, says Walmart and Target are testing new delivery services so customers won鈥檛 necessarily have to visit stores in person.
Dickson says Walmart teamed up with Uber to offer a new grocery home-delivery service. Consumers who prefer to visit the store can download an app that scans items as they鈥檙e put into cart; those items are automatically paid for through the app without having to visit the checkout stand.
Target has a program that is similar to Amazon鈥檚 Prime Pantry, in which consumers can order up to 45 pounds of non-perishable merchandise, delivered in a single box for a flat fee, Dickson says.
These services are only available in a few areas for now, but Dickson says it鈥檚 very likely they will roll out nationwide.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got employees now who are personal shoppers 鈥� that鈥檚 their job title. 鈥 think you鈥檒l see steady growth of this for many years to come,鈥� Dickson says.
Smaller businesses may struggle to compete with this kind of service, Dickson says. Blue Apron, an online meal-delivery company that just went public, is an example of that, he says.
Written by Caroline Covington.
