Walmart is fixing shoppers' top complaints with its fresh produce department as its online grocery business rapidly expands
- Walmart is redesigning its fresh produce department in response to customer complaints about crowding and difficulty finding organic produce.
- "Our customers were telling us, 'It's too busy, I don't have enough space to shop,'" Charles Redfield, executive vice president of Walmart's US food business, told Business Insider in an interview.
- The new design plan, which Walmart is calling produce 2.0, involves widening the fresh department's aisles, adding lower profile display bins for better visibility, and grouping all organic produce together in one area, among other changes.
- Walmart's growing online grocery business, which requires employees to pick and pack online orders in stores alongside customers, "played a big factor" in the redesign, Redfield said.
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Walmart is redesigning its fresh produce department to address customer complaints about crowding and other frustrations, the company said Wednesday.
The new design plan, which Walmart is calling produce 2.0, involves widening the fresh department's aisles, adding lower profile display bins for better visibility, and grouping all organic produce together in one area, among other changes.
"Our customers were telling us, 'It's too busy, I don't have enough space to shop,'" Charles Redfield, executive vice president of the Walmart's US food business, told Business Insider in an interview.
The changes are meant to provide more space for shoppers and provide a "more pleasant, faster shopping experience," he said.
He described the new design as similar to an "open market," featuring bright, vibrant colors and low-sided square bins that allow customers to select items from two sides or more.
Growing online grocery business 'played a big factor' in redesign
The redesign comes as Walmart rapidly expands its online grocery business, which is now in 3,100 stores and requires employees to pick and pack online orders in stores alongside customers.
The online grocery business "played a big factor" in the redesign, Redfield said.
About 90% of Walmart's online grocery orders contain at least one item from the fresh department, he said. The company has been trying to figure out how to fulfill those orders in a way that's not disruptive to in-store customers and the employees who restock the produce department, he added.
The new layout helps achieve that goal, he said.
"Not only is it a better experience for our customers, it's better for our associates," Redfield said. "They have more room to work the department."
The new layout is also a continuation of a multi-year effort by Walmart to improve the quality of its fresh produce, the company said.
That effort has included adding new organic and locally grown foods, and eliminating days from its supply-chain processes to lengthen the life of fresh produce once it's purchased. The company wanted to complete those initiatives before redesigning the department, Redfield said.
Walmart says organic produce will be easier to find
Alongside the new bins and wider aisles, Walmart is adding larger pricing signs in an effort to better highlight its price investments.
The redesign also aims to make it easier for shoppers to find organic products.
The company currently dedicates a section of its so-called "wet wall" of lettuces and other produce to organic items, while other organic items like potatoes, apples, and onions are dispersed throughout the department. With this setup, some customers have complained that organic products are hard to find, Redfield said.
With the redesign, all organic items will be grouped in one area of the fresh department.
Walmart has already started renovating some departments with the new layout and plans to update a majority of its stores by summer 2020, the company said.
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