Hey there! Have you tried using Walmart‘s grocery delivery service recently? If you have, you‘ve probably noticed it‘s not working so great. Orders are late, items are missing or wrong, and trying to get help is a nightmare. What‘s going on with Walmart delivery?
As a regular Walmart shopper myself, I was curious why the delivery service is such a mess right now. So I decided to dig into what‘s causing the problems and how Walmart can turn things around. Keep reading for the inside scoop on why your grocery delivery is constantly late, plus my ideas to help Walmart fix their delivery woes.
An Overview of Walmart Grocery Delivery
First, let’s quickly recap how Walmart grocery delivery works.
Walmart launched their delivery service nationally in 2018 after some pilot testing. It allows you to order fresh groceries like produce, meat, and dairy, everyday essentials, and even some general merchandise online. You select a delivery window and pay a fee, then a personal shopper picks and packs the order at your local store for delivery to your door.
The goal was to provide customers extra convenience and compete with Amazon and grocery delivery services like Instacart. And for a while, it was pretty popular! But lately, things have gone downhill.
Why Your Walmart Delivery is Always Late
So what exactly is going on with Walmart’s delivery service? From website crashes during checkout to constant order delays, there are a bunch of issues plaguing the platform right now.
Tech Failures Have the App and Site Down
Let’s start with the app and website problems. Customers report rampant tech issues trying to place orders, like:
- The app crashing or freezing when adding items to your cart
- Error messages preventing checkout
- Entire website going down for hours
These aren’t rare occurrences either. In 2022 alone, the Walmart grocery app average rating has sunk to just 2 stars out of 5 on the App Store.
Clearly, Walmart’s tech just isn’t able to smoothly handle the high order volumes. And lack of sufficient testing before launching new features just exacerbates the problems. No wonder we can’t even complete our orders!
Shortage of Delivery Drivers
Okay, so maybe you can actually submit your order despite the tech glitches. But it’s still going to be late because Walmart is facing a massive shortage of delivery drivers.
Walmart depends on contractors and gig drivers to provide the delivery services. But driver retention has been really low due to:
- Inconsistent work and low pay: Drivers report only making $15-20/hour
- No benefits like healthcare or paid time off
- Last-minute schedule changes
In fact, Walmart’s driver turnover rate hit an astonishing 150% in 2021 according to Bloomberg!
With such high turnover, Walmart simply can’t retain enough drivers to deliver all the orders coming in. That squares with the constant delays I‘ve experienced.
Trouble Keeping Up with Surging Demand
To make matters worse, order volumes have skyrocketed beyond what Walmart can handle.
Walmart grocery delivery orders grew by a whopping 98% in 2021 as more people shopped online during the pandemic. But their delivery capacity just hasn’t expanded fast enough to meet demand.
Just look at this huge mismatch in orders versus delivery fleet growth:
| Year | Online Grocery Orders | Walmart Delivery Fleet Size |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 210 million | 800 vehicles |
| 2021 | 420 million | 1,600 vehicles |
With that exploding order volume, a delivery fleet twice as big still isn’t sufficient. It‘s no surprise deliveries are severely delayed.
Behind-the-Scenes Issues in Fulfillment Centers
It turns out there are also big problems happening behind the scenes in Walmart’s fulfillment centers that are messing with deliveries.
Workers in the centers, who pick, pack, and load the delivery orders report:
- Constant understaffing and overwhelming workload
- Poor training and high turnover
- Inaccurate inventory that results in wrong or missing items
These fulfillment headaches result in botched orders. In fact, Walmart even had to shut down some centers during the 2021 holidays because of massive issues.
Poor fulfillment and inaccurate orders definitely don’t help on-time delivery metrics.
Delivery Logistics are Outdated
With all these issues, Walmart’s delivery logistics are just outdated compared to competitors. Their systems lack:
- Advanced order optimization algorithms – Walmart still relies on manual planning
- Dynamic delivery routing and real-time adjustment
- Driver assistance and communication
Walmart’s supply chain infrastructure simply isn’t nimble enough to coordinate complex delivery logistics at scale. That slows down the entire process.
Orders Are Often Inaccurate or Damaged
The problems don’t stop once drivers hit the road either. Walmart customers also complain about:
- Missing or incorrect items – up to 30% of online orders are inaccurate
- Poor substitution choices when items are out of stock
- Damaged perishables and melted frozen foods
- Difficulty getting refunds for errors
Sloppy fulfillment combined with lack of quality control hamper accuracy. And drivers without proper equipment cause further issues.
Abysmal Customer Service Wait Times
Finally, trying to get help from Walmart customer service about any delivery issue is a disaster.
Customers report waiting on hold for hours only to have problems never resolved. Phone agents lack specialized knowledge to address concerns. And basic billing and account management frequently goes wrong.
In this age of on-demand service, Walmart’s customer service experience is totally unacceptable and drags down perceptions of the delivery program as a whole.
How Walmart Can Turn Their Delivery Service Around
Phew, that’s a whole lot going wrong with Walmart delivery these days! But the good news is Walmart has the resources and scale to turn things around – if they take decisive action. Here are my ideas for how Walmart can fix their delivery woes:
Invest in Technical Upgrades
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Stabilize the app and website. Walmart needs major infrastructure upgrades to handle high traffic and prevent outages. Load testing and troubleshooting processes should also be implemented before new features deploy.
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Improve order tracking. Customers need real-time order status, reliable ETAs, and proactive communication if delays happen.
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Add user-friendly features. Options like saved shopping lists, personalized recommendations, etc. would improve the customer experience.
Boost Driver Recruitment and Retention
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Increase driver pay to $20-25/hr minimum. Higher base pay will attract more candidates and reduce turnover.
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Implement bonuses for performance. Drivers should earn incentives for metrics like on-time delivery, positive reviews, safety, etc.
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Offer healthcare and retirement benefits. Providing medical, dental, 401K with matching would retain drivers long-term.
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Enable flexible scheduling. Drivers want the autonomy to set their availability and schedule.
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Improve communication and support. Regular check-ins and a real-time driver help line prevents frustrations.
Expand Fulfillment Operations
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Open dedicated delivery fulfillment centers. Staff can specialize in online orders with more automation to increase output and accuracy.
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Update inventory management systems. Integrating stores and centers would provide real-time visibility of stock levels and cut down substitutions.
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Hire and train more fulfillment staff. Increasing headcount would ease bottlenecks, while better training improves performance.
Upgrade Delivery Logistics Capabilities
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Utilize order optimization algorithms. Advanced analytics can maximize route efficiency, minimize delivery times, and balance capacity.
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Enable dynamic routing. Drivers should be able to adjust routes in real-time based on traffic, weather etc.
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Invest in delivery management software. Platforms to track all drivers, provide support, optimize routes, and analyze performance data are essential.
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Provide driver assistance features. In-app navigation, notifications, substitution logic, etc. would streamline deliveries.
Boost Quality Control and Customer Service
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Implement stricter accuracy benchmarks. Adding quality assurance audits at fulfillment centers and examining metrics would minimize mistakes.
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Improve substitution logic. Drivers need guidance on picking suitable replacements when inventory is unavailable.
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Invest in driver equipment. Providing insulated bags, cold storage units, etc. would maintain food temperatures and quality.
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Reduce customer service wait times. Hiring more agents and providing callbacks for online booking would improve responsiveness.
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Train representatives on delivery-specific issues. Specialized knowledge is important to resolve problems quickly.
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Standardize issue escalation processes. Defined steps for elevating unresolved complaints would improve oversight.
The Bottom Line
Walmart built their grocery delivery program to be a major competitive advantage. But the poor execution plaguing operations in 2024 has seriously damaged the service’s reliability and reputation.
The good news is that by addressing the technology failings, driver shortage, logistics gaps, fulfillment problems, and quality control issues – Walmart can turn things around. With strategic investments to improve capacity, efficiency, accuracy and support, they can get grocery delivery back on track.
It won’t be a quick or easy fix. But reviving their delivery capabilities is critical for Walmart’s ecommerce growth and consumer experience. Here’s hoping they take action soon, so customers like me can reliably get our groceries delivered again!
