Marion Walmart first to install Mamava Breastfeeding Pod Tech-enabled free service part of total store remodel

MARION - Walmart announced it is offering a new service to Marion moms with the installation of a Mamava Lactation Suite - or "pod" - inside the Marion Walmart Supercenter.

Providing another option for breastfeeding moms, the Mamava pod is free for customers and associates to use, totally customizable, and is one of the many upgrades to this newly remodeled Walmart store.

Walmart is the first retailer to install Mamava pods in a store setting and the Marion Supercenter is the first Walmart store in Illinois to offer this option for customers and associates. The company plans to install a Mamava pod in more than 100 Walmart Supercenters throughout the country by the end of 2020.

"There is nothing else like the Mamava pod. We strongly believe in what Mamava is doing to support moms and the experience the pods help create," said Julie Murphy, Executive Vice President, People, Walmart U.S. "We are very excited to provide this for moms who work and shop at our stores."

Mamava pods are free-standing spaces that provide a clean, comfortable, and private option to breastfeed or pump. The pods are accessed through the Mamava app, which guides mom to a pod's location and opens the pod with the touch of a button. The pod also allows mom to customize lighting and airflow, leave digital notes of encouragement for other moms and listen to soothing sounds.

"We started Mamava to ensure that every breastfeeding mother could choose whether or not to breastfeed, so we set out to remove all barriers to making that choice," said Sascha Mayer, Mamava's CEO and co-founder. "Walmart's commitment to supporting breastfeeding associates and community members with Mamava pods is a huge leap forward for inclusivity and normalizing breastfeeding culture."

A recent survey by Mamava and Medela found that COVID-19 is making moms even more committed to breastfeeding, in part for its immunological benefits. As an essential business, and a member of the Marion community, Walmart understands the role it plays in providing customers with food, medicine, and other essential items during this unique time. The addition of the Mamava is one more way the company is supporting its associates and customers and adds to the extensive measures Walmart has put in place in stores around the country this year in response to the impact of COVID-19.

The Mamava pod is one part of the Marion store's just completed store remodel. Other store upgrades include:

Convenient grocery delivery service. Customers can visit Walmart.com/grocery or go to the existing Walmart Grocery app to build an online basket and place an order, selecting the most convenient time for the order to be delivered. A Walmart personal shopper picks the items and a delivery service will come to the store, pick up the orders and take it directly to the desired location.

Revitalized apparel department, including updated fitting rooms with better lighting and more room.

Updated pharmacy with private consultation rooms for customer convenience.

Modernized grocery layout, including new grocery items available for purchase.

Expanded self-checkout area with additional registers and larger bagging platforms.

Claire's, the accessories, jewelry, hair and beauty retailer, was added as a new tenant at the front-end of the store.