Photo: Walmart

This is a sponsored post.

With our lives being as hectic as they are most days, shopping online is something that we’ve often times opted for over going to the store. It’s so much easier than having to load the car with the kids, keep them entertained, and deal with traffic and horrendous Florida heat. Plus, you save on gas money, which is something that can’t be overlooked these days!

However, you can’t always wait for items to be shipped to you; there are times you may need it right away. Or, at the very least, it would be nice if you could have it faster, even if it’s not a must. That’s why I was excited to find out that Walmart now offers a free Pick Up Today program. You browse the Walmart site, find items showing the Pick Up Today option (see image below), choose that as your shipping method, and then pick up your item(s) later that same day at your local store. Here’s why I think this is genius.

Benefits of Walmart’s Pick Up Today

• I can browse on my own time and at my own pace, with no kids in tow.
• Shipping is free.
• I can quickly run into the store to pick up the item, which is already paid for, and walk right back out, avoiding long check-out lines.

As part of the Walmart Moms program, we were given an opportunity to test out the Pick Up Today feature. As I browsed the site, I found that my local store didn’t have as many items available for Pick Up Today as I had hoped. Additionally, items that I knew were in stock (because I had seen them at the store previously) were not showing as available for Pick Up Today. So, as is true with the majority of new programs, there are a few things about the Pick Up Today feature that could still use improvement.

What Can be Improved About Pick Up Today

• It would be nice to be able to sort items by those that are available for Pick Up Today. That way, you wouldn’t have to browse through all in an effort to find out what’s available.
• More products need to be available for Pick Up Today. At least for my local preferred store, there was a limited availability of products; perhaps other stores have a larger inventory.

As the Pick Up Today feature improves and more items become available, I can see my family using it more and more. It was so easy to purchase a new activity station for baby boy, pay for it ahead of time, and then pick it up a few hours later at the store. I was in and out of the store within 10 minutes, and had I been alone and not with both kids, it would have been much faster.

Imagine the possibilities! Wouldn’t it be great to do grocery shopping like this? Seriously, I would love to be able to shop for my groceries online, choose Pick Up Today as an option, and then a few hours later head to the store to pick up my order and head right back home. What do you say Walmart? Can you work that out for us busy parents?

Do you enjoy shopping online? Do you think the Pick Up Today feature is something you’d use?

Disclosure: As a member of the Walmart Moms program, I was compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.