Proctor and Gamble (better known as P&G) and Walmart did not get to be respectively one of the world’s leading consumer brands and the numero uno retailer by letting the grass grow under their feet. With significant online presences, both companies have become increasingly aware that in densely populated areas convenience trumps lugging packages. Quick local delivery is an option that urban dwellers, not only appreciate, but desire. 

Think about whether you want your groceries delivered to your house/apartment from FreshDirect or slog through bad weather with a backpack or a stroller? Do you want to spend the time, money and hassle going to places like Walmart, Target (News - Alert) or Costco to get your six month supply of paper towels and all those other “large consumables” you did not know you needed until you walked past them, or have them delivered? If you live in a big city the answers are a no-brainer. P&G and Walmart get it. They are also trying to figure out how to change the game and have come up with an interesting twist.

The two companies, this month, are testing an idea, borrowed from those seemingly ubiquitous food-trucks, to literally take it to the street. Now stationing in heavily trafficked areas of the New York City Borough of Manhattan, under the moniker @PGMoible, are trucks with giant QR codes that drive patrons to Walmart's e-commerce hub. There they can place their order which touts free shipping with purchases of a minimum of $45, giving new meaning to the term “drive traffic.”

This combination of mobile, social media and real-time commerce is also being tested this month at popular bus stations in Chicago. The nice wrinkle here is that rather than just blasting out on social media the location of the trucks, Twitter (News - Alert) users can tweet requests to have the trucks come directly to where they are, subject of course to local permits and rules governing parking.  

 In an item about this on adage.com, Chad Brizendine, brand manager, Walmart Grooming and Walmart.com, P&G stated that, "We look forward to seeing results of this initiative in Chicago and New York…While I can't elaborate on our plans going forward, we know reaching the urban consumer is a big opportunity for us and we are committed to finding the right to better serve this consumer."

Given that the average Walmart stocks over 40,000 items (many of them P&G products), don’t look for bigger boxes on wheels cruising your neighborhood. This initiative is attributed mostly to P&G surprisingly. The initial goal is to build brand awareness in markets where Walmart does not have a box presence and where value shoppers may not be aware of the attraction of doing e-commerce with Walmart. The enemy here is Amazon, who has mastered the art of speedy delivery of almost any bulky consumer merchandize, and others who have done likewise.

Give the two giants their due. The QR codes are a very nice touch to engage smartphone users, and the way in which Twitter is being employed is very clever. In fact, one wonders if there a plans to anthropomorphize the trucks so you can carry on a conversation with them. You have to appreciate them as the Doobie Brothers’ hit says, “Takin’ it to the Streets.”

I am going to date myself horribly. Some of my fondest childhood memories are hearing the bells of the Goo Humor ice cream truck and chasing it down the block on a hot summer day. Those trucks always seemed stocked with whatever I desired. This is not that, but give credit where credit is due. Walmart’s immense distribution system, and the amazing logistics that power it, are something to be in awe of and fear if you are Amazon, or a start-up thinking fast local delivery is a niche to be exploited. 

I am looking forward to my first tweet from @PGMobile, and will be looking for their trucks the next time I am in NYC.