Recluses rejoice, Kroger to offer online ordering

You’ll still have to drive to the store but you won’t have to get out of the car.

February 8, 2016; 12:30 PM • by Richard Hayes

From the press release:

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer with 18 stores throughout the Richmond area, announced today that it will bring ClickList, an online ordering feature, to the Richmond market as early as March 2016.

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

“Our customers in other markets have celebrated the convenience the ClickList brings to their everyday life – and we are thrilled to soon offer this to the Richmond market,” said Anne Jenkins, spokesperson for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division. “We’re always looking for ways to provide additional value – and now we can help our customers save something priceless – their time.”

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 simple and straightforward. The customer visits their designated Kroger store’s website and creates their 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.

Additional ClickList details include:

A $4.95 service charge is added to the total.

Hours are from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

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 has been testing online ordering in select stores since November 2014 and the feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive,” said George Anderson, Kroger E-Commerce Manager. “Senior citizens, parents with young children and busy professionals all appreciate and take advantage of this new convenience.”