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Kroger to introduce online shopping, grocery pick up in Richmond metro

Posted at 11:56 AM, Feb 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-08 12:03:26-05

RICHMOND, Va. –  As the grocery store market continues to heat up in the Richmond-metro, with roughly 10 new shops opening over the next two years, Kroger looks to stand out with a new online shopping service.

The grocery chain, which operates 120 stores, 115 pharmacies and 86 fuel center centers in its Mid-Atlantic Division, will soon offer an online ordering system called ClickList. The estimated time of roll-out is anticipated “as early as March 2016.”

The first Kroger store in the Richmond market of 18 shops that will offer ClickList is the Kroger Marketplace in Chester — the newest Kroger, located at 10800 Iron Bridge Road.

The service is offered in other markets, and will be extended to other shops in the metro area.

Each ClickList location offers more than 40,000 items, including fresh meat and produce, with new items added every week.

The basics of ClickList are straightforward.

The customer goes to their designated Kroger store’s website and creates a shopping list, selects a pick-up time and then places an order. Once an order is placed, a Kroger store associate shops the store to fulfill the order and stores it in “temperature-appropriate zones” until the customer arrives.

When the customer arrives to the designated pick-up area a store associate loads the order into the customer’s car.

A $4.95 service charge is added to the total. The hours of service run from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., daily.

Orders placed before midnight are available for pick-up the next day at a specific time chosen by the customer.

Payment is made at time of pick-up, right from the customer’s car.

Coupons electronically linked to a customer’s loyalty card will automatically redeem to reduce the cost of the order. Paper coupons will be deducted at time of pick up.

If an item is not available, store associates will offer a substitution to the customer, which the customer may accept or decline.

Pharmacy prescriptions are not included in the program.

Kroger began testing online ordering in select stores starting in November 2014 and company officials said the customer feedback “has been overwhelmingly positive.”

“We’re always looking for ways to provide additional value – and now we can help our customers save something priceless – their time,” said Anne Jenkins, spokesperson for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division.

The service charges $7.99 for expedited delivery times. Relay Foods offers a similar online ordering,  pick-up service, with specific days and locations for pick-up.  Currently, Amazon offers a service for its Prime members, called Prime Now, that delivers items to your doorstep, in two hours.

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