A VC in Vacationland

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Well, I admit it. Plenty of other food home delivery options exist for consumers, at least in a few markets like New York City. But when Wal-Mart decides to stick its toe in the space, one must again pay attention. I wrote a few months ago about the very flexible and intelligent home delivery service in Europe, Chronodrive, which allows consumers to easily order on-line and then schedule their delivery.

The steady inroads of Amazon and, yes, Sears into the home delivery market has made the giant Wal-Mart look at whether its customers will pony up for the convenience of not going to the store to shop. Before we get too excited, Wal-Mart is limiting the concept trial, termed Wal-Mart To Go, to one store in San Jose, CA. Perhaps they are seeking to attract all those hi-tech professionals who work 18 hours a day and do not have time to shop. For a $5 and up delivery charge, Wal-Mart To Go will deliver food, health-and-beauty products, medicine and other basic household supplies during user-chosen delivery windows.

Wal-Mart already operates a successful home delivery operation in the United Kingdom via its Asda subsidiary, so it should have the in-house experience to know how to make the operations work in a cost effective manner.  It all depends on whether the consumers flock to the offering.  On-line only specials and other incentives are likely to be used to drive business.  Wal-Mart, with its broader assortment of products than traditional supermarkets may also have an edge in product assortment.