Walmart is killing off its most popular app as online shopping reaches record highs — and it's a brilliant strategy

• Walmart is ending its grocery app and merging it with the company's main app, so shoppers can buy food, toys, tools, and more all in one place.
• "We don't ask customers to make two trips to the store, one for groceries and one for all the other things they need, so we shouldn't ask them to visit two apps," said Janey Whiteside, Walmart's chief customer officer.
• The refreshed Walmart app could encourage shoppers to buy more. Whiteside said Walmart is seeing more diverse baskets and higher tickets from customers using the new app.

Walmart is shutting down its online grocery app, and will now allow shoppers to order groceries and general merchandise in one place: the Walmart app.

Previously, shoppers had to visit two different apps to access everything Walmart offers.

The grocery app enabled shoppers to order food and other goods for pickup and delivery. The Walmart app allowed shoppers to order all other products, such as items available only online, as well as access store maps and Walmart's payment system, Walmart Pay.

The company announced plans to merge the two apps in March, and said Wednesday that process was complete.

Existing grocery app customers will now be directed to download the Walmart app, and their information and carts will be transferred to the newly refreshed app.

Walmart is merging the apps just as online grocery demand surges.

Walmart's pickup and delivery sales grew as much as 300% during peak in the first quarter of the year, executives said Tuesday. The company's grocery app won the No. 1 spot in shopping apps in April, according to the analytics firm App Annie.

The "online grocery app was No. 1 in the App Store as customers turned at an unprecedented pace to pickup and delivery services — which is why we think there is no better time than now to integrate our two apps and bring them an even better, more comprehensive experience," said Walmart chief customer officer Janey Whiteside. "We don't ask customers to make two trips to the store, one for groceries and one for all the other things they need, so we shouldn't ask them to visit two apps."

Walmart has been gradually migrating customers to the refreshed Walmart app, and said 50% of online grocery orders are now placed through the platform.

In an interview with Business Insider, Whiteside said Walmart is seeing more diverse baskets and higher tickets from customers using the new app. This may be due to the fact that customers have access to a wider selection of items.

"We've seen an uptick in the amount of general merchandise they're buying alongside their groceries, like toys and gardening tools as they shop for bananas and apples and cereal," she said.

In addition to merging the apps, Walmart has also added "hundreds of thousands" of new slots for online grocery pickup and added new capabilities allowing customers to reserve a no-contact pickup or delivery or order Express Delivery to have items delivered to their doors in less then two hours.

Customers can also use the app to refill prescriptions and select "curbside pickup" or delivery for those prescriptions. Contactless Walmart Pay is also available through the Walmart App.

Read the original article on Business Insider