WalMart Stores announced its official launch of a new subscription service called Goodies. The new service allows consumers to try new foods through sample packages mailed to their homes. The new service costs $7 per month, but that includes taxes and shipping charges, so it is a very competitively priced service considering each month subscribers will get five to eight sample size products, chosen for them by Walmart Goodies. Walmart officials say the monthly subscription price is only about half of the value of the items in a typical order.
The samples come in what is called a ‘tasters box’ and could include selections including organic or ethnic products consumers won’t find in WalMart stores. If customers decide they like a product they can order from http://www.goodies.co and have full-size versions delivered to their homes and the shipping charges are always $5, regardless of what customers order. Some of the selections on Goodies website include such novel products as Hatch Chili con Queso Popcorn, a novelty tea called Eggnogg’n Tea and Biscoff Spread, a spread that looks like peanut butter, but is made of pureed Belgian cookies. Although some of the products are unusual and cannot be found in Walmart stores, the company views Goodies as a great way to identify new food trends in stores.
The Goodies announcement comes on the heels of Walmart’s recently announced test of a delivery service that lets customers order items with same day delivery. It is only being tested in certain markets and they are starting with the most popular items for the holidays. In the past few years subscription services have sprouted up in a variety of categories including clothing, personal care products and more. “It’s a good model, if there’s an element of discovery,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester Research analyst.
Walmart’s research division, Walmart Labs, has been researching and experimenting with the Goodies concept for months and has already racked up 3,000 subscribers before even announcing the service to the public. Walmart Labs has been heavily involved in experimenting with different social media strategies and they created an online community for Goodies subscribers and fans where they can not only post comments, but they can earn loyalty points for posting reviews and later redeem the points for products in Walmart stores. Walmart Labs Products Vice President, Ravi Raj, said Walmart decided to start the Goodies service with an online community element because it is, “inherently very social,” and, “People love to talk about new food products.”
As the largest grocer in America Walmart is not resting on its laurels assuming they will always be the big kid on the block. The company’s management is keenly aware of how brutally competitive the grocery industry is and how aggressive its competitors can be. Walmart has been very active in pushing the use of new technologies in every aspect of its business from supply chain management to social media, so adding a new service like Goodies is not a big surprise for those who follow the company. Whether the new Goodies service will stay as a permanent offering remains to be seen, but if you are looking for an easy way to try new foods, it may be exactly what you’ve been looking for.