Wal-Mart Paying Store Employees to Deliver Packages After Work

Wal-Mart is testing a new program that lets store associates opt into delivering e-commerce ship-from-store orders. Marc Lore, chief executive of Wal-Mart U.S. e-commerce, explained that the program uses technology so workers can set preferences such as how many packages they want to deliver, weight limits for the packages and which days they would like to deliver packages. Workers “earn extra income on their existing drive home,” Lore wrote. “Once they’re done working at the store for the day, they pick up the packages from the backroom, load them into their vehicle, enter the delivery addresses into the GPS on their phone, and head toward home.”

Total Retail’s Take: As consumers continue the shift to shopping online, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers like Wal-Mart are looking for ways to leverage physical store locations — and their workers — in the supply chain. In the case of Wal-Mart, most of its programs are done with an eye on Amazon.com.

“Wal-Mart is doing a great job of showing retailers that innovation isn’t the exclusive domain of Amazon,” said Nick McLean, CEO of OrderDynamics. “Beyond that, it's including its staff, adding the human touch, which is the ultimate benefit of the physical retail presence.”