Wal-Mart launches food subscription service

[Hum]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Wednesday will officially launch a mail subscription service, called Goodies, that lets shoppers discover new foods from the comfort of their homes.

For a monthly fee of $7 that includes tax and shipping, customers get a box of five to eight hand-picked, sample-size food items, ranging from organic to ethnic products that are not currently carried on Wal-Mart's shelves. The world's largest retailer began testing the service three months ago and so far has 3,000 subscribers. For November items include pumpkin souffle mix, white cheddar popcorn and dark chocolate-infused Quinoa bars.

Wal-Mart told reporters in late May that its research division ? Walmart Labs ? was creating a food subscription service, but the company didn't offer many details.

It works like this: users can sign up for the service at www.goodies.co . The monthly price is almost half of the total value of the items if they were purchased separately, according to Wal-Mart. If customers like the products, they can purchase full-size versions on the Goodies Co. website. Goodies has also created a social community online where subscribers can post reviews to earn loyalty points. The points can be redeemed in the future for items in the store.

Ravi Raj, vice president of products at San Bruno, Calif.-based Walmart Labs said it wanted to start a subscription service for food because it is "inherently very social."

"People love to talk about new food products," Raj said.

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[jnelsoninjax]

Interesting... I guess that Wal-Mart gets you into the store so you buy the items that you sampled? Otherwise what interest do they hold?

[ILikeTobacco]

Sounds interesting. I go to Sams all the time just to try the foods they are sampling.

[Hum]

Yes people, we aren't fat enuff. Now you don't even have to drive to the store or walk around shopping. You can just have those frozen pizzas and cupcakes delivered ... :rolleyes: And the money you'ved saved on gas, can buy you even more food at Wal-Mart.

[Teebor]

Yes people, we aren't fat enuff. Now you don't even have to drive to the store or walk around shopping. You can just have those frozen pizzas and cupcakes delivered ... :rolleyes: And the money you'ved saved on gas, can buy you even more food at Wal-Mart.

You already could have food delivered, now they are just sending you random stuff to get you to buy different things

Sod exploring the world or discovering new things yourself, just have someone else do it for you

[The Rev]

Yes people, we aren't fat enuff. Now you don't even have to drive to the store or walk around shopping. You can just have those frozen pizzas and cupcakes delivered ... :rolleyes: And the money you'ved saved on gas, can buy you even more food at Wal-Mart.

They've actually had mail-order food for a long time... Nothing new. :-p

Example- Omaha steaks, and more recently, supermarket chains like a local to me, Stop n Shop, have online ordering and delivery.

[*RedBull*]

Anything to make a buck. :|

[Growled Member]

This seems like a major fail to me.