Walmart pilots personal shopper service in NYC

“Jetblack” will allow select customers in Manhattan and Brooklyn to send shopping requests via text message and have their orders delivered within one day.    Walmart Inc. has expanded testing of a new personal shopping and delivery service in certain areas of New York City, the company announced Thursday.
   The service, dubbed “Jetblack,” allows users to send “nearly any” shopping request to Walmart via text message. It will then find and deliver the appropriate products within one day at no additional charge.
   Walmart said it sees Jetblack as a sort of e-commerce concierge service.
   Using a combination of curated shopping recommendations sent via text, expertise from both professional shoppers and regular consumers, and artificial intelligence to process and learn from all that data, the service was designed with “time-strapped urban parents” in mind and can deliver “everything from birthday gifts to household essentials.” Some of the products will be sourced from Walmart and subsidiary Jet.com, which the company purchased for $3 billion in 2016, but others will be procured from local brands and shops.
   “Examples have included sourcing a specific beauty cream from a member’s favorite local boutique, curating custom Easter baskets and delivering them once the kids are asleep and rushing beach essentials to a family on vacation,” Walmart said of Jetblack’s closed beta testing in Manhattan, adding that “members say shopping with Jetblack is as easy as texting a close friend who knows your preferences.”
   Jenny Fleiss, co-founder and CEO of Jetblack and co-founder of online apparel rental service Rent the Runway, said, “Consumers are looking for more efficient ways to shop for themselves and their families without having to compromise on product quality. With Jetblack, we have created an entirely new concept that enables consumers to get exactly what they need through the convenience of text messaging and the freedom of a nearly unlimited product catalogue. We are confident this service will make shopping frictionless, more personalized and delightful.”
   Known only as “Code Eight” prior to its launch, Jetblack is the first service to launch from Store No 8, Walmart’s in-house technology incubator.
   Established by Walmart President and CEO of U.S. eCommerce Marc Lore in March 2017, Store No 8 says it aims to develop companies and concepts “with the potential to transform the future of retail.”
   For Walmart and Store No 8, Jetblack represents the first iteration of one such concept, something it calls “conversational commerce … the ability to shop through text messaging, online chat or voice.”
   “Our e-commerce strategy has been focused on three elements: nailing the fundamentals, leveraging our unique strengths to play offense and innovating for the future,” Lore said of the test launch. “Through Store No 8 and Jetblack, we’re able to build and test technology that can lay the foundation for capabilities we believe will have a profound impact on how customers may shop five years from now. Powered by conversational commerce, the future of retail will bring convenience and high-touch personalization to the forefront for consumers everywhere.”