Walmart Jetblack service lets customers shop with text messages

Amazon isn't the only company with unique twists on the shopping experience. Walmart has officially introduced a new service that leaked several months ago, and it's called Jetblack. With this, customers can shop using ordinary text messages, eliminating both the need to visit a store and the mobile app experience. Sound appealing? There's one big catch.

The new service, Jetblack, is initially only available in New York. With it, customers who pay a $50/month subscription fee get access to a personal shopping experience that includes delivery, gift wrapping, product recommendations, and more. Adding to the appeal is Jetblack's support for products from certain other stores, too.

Jetblack is the brainchild of Walmart's Store No. 8 incubator. We previously saw the service leak as a personalized shopping experience targeting higher income individuals who don't want to physically visit stores themselves. The plan revolves around a "J" assistant that can do more than just receive orders.

Subscribers can use the app to return items, ask for recommendations, get help locating an item they've found and want to purchase, and more. This is all done using the service's app via text-based messages and voice commands, at least based on a video released by Jetblack.

Delivery to customers is free and takes place either the same day or the next day. For gifts, the service will create handwritten gift cards and wrap items. Subscribers are given on-demand access to experts across a variety of categories, and Jetblack doesn't require minimum purchases to get rush deliveries.

It's unclear when Jetblack will expand into other cities.

SOURCE: CNBC