Wal-mart has released a new site which includes CNET reviews of technology products and “will allow for fewer than 4 clicks to product checkout from any starting point,” according to CNNMoney.com.

Check out our screencast of the new Wal-Mart site.

Walmart.com said the site redesign affects 1,000 categories, with special focus on home furnishing, apparel and electronics, and more than 2 million pages at Walmart.com.

That’s quite a redesign, no wonder it took them a year to complete. The addition of add to cart buttons on category pages can certainly shorten the checkout process and the CNET reviews are a great way to get less tech-savvy customers to drop a couple g’s on a HDTV. However, the reviews should be more prominently displayed.

Once in the electronics category the customer must scroll down past the fold and select the buying guide. Why not have a link to the buying guide appear when a customer navigates to an HDTV product page?

Most interesting to me is Wal-Mart’s drive to sell more upscale products. The CEO of Walmart.com tells CNN Money that they will be adding two-carat diamond rings, 50 inch flatscreens and the Playstation 3. What do you think about the redesign of Walmart.com?