Dominick Reuter/Business Insider
- Walmart workers are dealing with some push and pull over the carts used to fill online orders.
- This week, the company partially reversed recent rules over how to load and move carts in stores.
- The new rules prioritize customer and worker safety over e-commerce order volume.
Most jobs involve a bit of push and pull, but few workers experience it so literally as the Walmart store employees who gather the items shoppers order online for pickup.
The company has new instructions for when to push the carts used to fill those orders and when to pull them, according to a recent memo obtained by Business Insider. It partially reverses an earlier policy that some workers pushed back against last week.
The moves show how Walmart, like Amazon before it, is navigating the critical balance between accelerating e-commerce operations and maintaining a safe environment for people.
As of this week, the latest guidance from Walmart instructs workers to load a maximum of six blue bins on a cart, down from the previous eight, so they can better see where they're going. It also advises employees to push the cart when they can see clearly, and to pull it if "visibility is limited."
"This update supports a safer environment for associates and customers while helping make Walmart the best and safest place to shop and work," the memo said.
The memo reflects a quick corporate pivot from a days-old policy change that told workers to pull the carts instead of pushing them. That change was widely criticized on several Reddit pages and Facebook groups for workers, where users said the carts bumped into their heels when pulled.
Walmart did not comment on the policy changes, citing a quiet period ahead of its quarterly earnings report, but a spokesperson said employee and customer safety is a "top priority" for the company.
"We're constantly reinforcing policies and making adjustments where needed, to maintain a safe and enjoyable shopping experience," the spokesperson said.
Walmart has defended itself against multiple lawsuits over the years involving customers who say they were struck and injured by carts pushed by employees, including one from a 2020 incident that resulted in a $1.2 million judgment in 2024.
Walmart relies on its more than 4,600 stores to fulfill the bulk of its online orders, and individual locations may handle several hundred online orders per day. The company is also pushing to get faster, with delivery times reaching speeds of 30 minutes or less.
These concerns about safety come as Walmart's e-commerce business is booming: The segment posted 27% sales growth in its most recent quarter, marking the eighth consecutive quarter with growth over 20%.
Reducing the number of bins allowed on a fulfillment cart by 25% is likely to lower the volume of orders that can be filled during a single pick run.
One way Walmart is aiming to improve pick speeds is through the rollout of digital shelf labels, which are installed in about half of the store fleet. The tech uses flashing LEDs that help employees identify which item on a shelf is part of an order.
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