<p>Wal-Mart is unveiling a <B>new grocery format</b> that’ll take shopping to a whole new level of convenience for U.S. citizens. The company is offering consumers a <B>stand-alone pick-up center</b> where shoppers can retrieve their online orders <B>right from their car</b>. According to The City Wire, Wal-Mart reviewed plans for the first concept depot with Bentonville city officials earlier last week. After the city planning commission approves the plan on May 6, Wal-Mart says it’ll be ready to test this new concept in its hometown, <B>Bentonville, Arkansas.</b><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Bill Simon, CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., first introduced the concept in early March, calling it <B>“Sonic-like,”</b> referring to the idea that associates would bring consumers their grocery orders to their car like a drive-in diner. The Bentonville fulfillment depot will house <B>10,000 fresh and dry grocery products</b> – from fresh produce to cereal, chips, bread, meat, and milk, says Deisha Barnett, Corporate Spokeswoman.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“We know at Wal-Mart our customers’ needs are changing,” said Barnett. “They want and need more shopping options and we have the means to give them low prices, wide assortments along with value and convenience in a seamless shopping experience.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">So far, Wal-Mart has tested drive-through pick-up options for online orders in 11 stores in the Denver area with a <B>90% approval rating</b>, The City Wire reports. Wal-Mart’s U.K. subsidiary, Asda, already has more than 100 drive-through pick-up locations with plans for more. Will we soon see a new trend in the U.S. for this concept?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Loblaw, for example, was also recently planning a pilot test of online grocery retailing for later this year with its “click and carry” sales method. It will be interesting to see if other U.S. retailers like Wal-Mart will pick up this new drive-in concept for groceries. It definitely seems to be a hit in the U.K.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we report on any further developments. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://stock.walmart.com" target="_new"> Wal-Mart </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
