Walmart's convenient "pickup" service is stepping up a notch in a bid to entice time-poor consumers wanting to retrieve online grocery orders without employee interaction. 

Walmart's Pickup self-service kiosk which is being trialed in an Oklahoma super center.

Business Insider reports the company has set up a giant vending machine-like self-service kiosk in the parking lot of a Warr Acres, Oklahoma store.

The retailer is testing a giant self-service kiosk in the parking lot of a supercenter in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, where customers can pick up online grocery orders without interacting with employees.

"Especially for busy families with kids, grocery shopping used to take a couple of hours on the weekend. You can now pickup your groceries in just a few minutes and have more time back in your day," Walmart spokesman Scott Markley told the publication.

He added the kiosk would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the story reported.

With 30,000 items on offer through the automated service, the move appears to be an attempt to compete with Amazon Fresh, building on the Walmart Pickup service which as of April was already available in 600 stores.

At the time of that announcement, Walmart U.S. executive vice president of central operations Mark Ibbotson said the retailer was planning another 500 locations this year for the pickup service.

The in-store Pickup Tower

He said the initiative allowed customers to "order groceries online, select a pickup time and have those groceries delivered to your car in minutes, all without having to leave the driver’s seat". 

"To make the in-store experience as simple and easy as possible, we’ve added additional staffing at our Pickup desks, including department managers in many of our stores – jobs that didn’t exist a few years ago," Ibbotson said.

"We’ve also developed new training programs and introduced mobile technology that simplifies how work gets done. This is leading to lower wait times and higher customer satisfaction.

"This convenience is maximized by the Walmart app, which allows you to notify the store when you’re on your way, making sure your items are ready when you arrive."

The executive said the "Pickup Tower" was another example of new technology to meet changing consumer needs.

"Much like a high-tech vending machine for your online orders, this feature in a few of our stores allows you to pick up items in less than a minute by scanning a bar code sent to your smartphone," he said.

"The pilot phase has been so successful we’re expanding it to other locations across the country.

"We’re also testing other pickup options and locations that quickly get items to you in ways that are most convenient."

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