Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun testing an online grocery delivery service in San Jose, California, a company spokesman said on Saturday.
The world's biggest retailer had been rumored to be considering dipping its toe into online grocery delivery for the past few years.
The "Walmart To Go" test allows customers to visit Walmart.com to order groceries and consumables and have them delivered to their homes, the spokesman said.
Products include fresh produce, meat and seafood, frozen food, bakery, baby, over-the-counter pharmacy, household supplies and health and beauty items.
The online grocery business has proven difficult to succeed given the perishability of fresh food and the industry's small profit margins, analysts have said.
If WalMart decides to stay and expand in the online grocery delivery business, its competitors would include Peapod and Amazon Fresh.
WalMart's grocery business saw US$140.6 billion in sales last year in the United States, up 2.1 percent from 2009, said a recent report.
