Drive-thru groceries

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This article was published 25/05/2016 (3458 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Grocery shopping is about to become a lot easier for some local Superstore customers.

Starting today, customers can order their groceries online from two Winnipeg Real Canadian Superstore outlets and a store employee will not only fill their order for them, he or she will even take it out to their vehicle when they pick it up.

The catch is the customer has to pay a $3 to $5 “convenience fee” for the service. According to an official with Superstore’s parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., that’s not an issue for most consumers.

“From the feedback we get, and we get a lot of it, they really see the value in it,” said Lauren Steinberg, director of e-commerce marketing.

“(They) find that very reasonable considering the level of service they’re getting.”

Loblaw tested its Click and Collect service in late 2014 and in 2015 in a handful of stores in the Toronto area. The response was so positive that last fall it announced it would expand the service to other parts of the country.

Steinberg said the service is now offered in 58 stores in four provinces — Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia — with more to come.

In Winnipeg, they’re starting off with two stores — 3193 Portage Ave. and 80 Bison Dr.

The plan is to add two more — 1385 Sargent Ave. and 2132 McPhillips St. — within the next few weeks, and another two — one in Winnipeg and the other in rural Manitoba — by early fall.

Steinberg said the company has no plans to offer the service at its No Frills stores in Winnipeg, although she wouldn’t rule it out at a future date.

“It’s not something for every store. We listen to our customers, and we want to go where they want us to be,” she said. “But what the future holds, I don’t know just yet.”

Walmart Canada was testing the concept at some of its Ontario stores last year and assessing whether to expand it to other parts of the country.

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy with Dalhousie University in Halifax, said he’s not surprised to see Loblaw expanding the service to Winnipeg and other parts of the country.

“I think Canadians are ready to move online more and more,” he said.

Canada is behind most other countries when it comes to online grocery shopping, but that’s changing, he said, thanks mainly to millennials who have grown up with computers and have no qualms about shopping online.

“I think they’re also very comfortable with empowering someone they don’t know to pick their oranges and their favourite tomatoes for them,” he said.

“So I do believe it (buying groceries online) is going to continue to grow even more in the years to come.”

Charlebois also doesn’t think many will balk at paying a convenience fee, noting plenty of them are willing to pay a $50 annual membership fee to shop at Costco, or $99 per year for two-day delivery with the online service Amazon.

“And because food inflation has been an issue the last couple of years, a couple of more dollars to save some time is worthwhile for many consumers,” he said.

Steinberg said busy mothers have been the most frequent users of the service, and many older consumers and young professionals are using it as well.

She maintained customers needn’t worry the stores will charge more for groceries purchased online, or will fill their order with products that have a best-before date that’s about to expire.

“We offer the same prices, promotions and deals… and as full of an assortment (of products) as you would see in the store,” she said. “And our personal shoppers select the freshest items for the customer and according to their preferences. If they want their avocados ripe to make guacamole tonight, just tell us and we’ll make sure we pick the proper item for you.”

The next step after this type of service may be click and deliver, where customers order online and have their groceries delivered to their home.

Although a number of smaller retailers — such as Cantor’s Quality Meats and Groceries and the Downtown Family Foods in Winnipeg — have been offering home delivery for years, until recently Charlebois was sceptical the big players would go that route because of the cost involved.

But with Amazon entering online grocery retailing, all bets are off.

He noted Amazon already offers grocery deliveries within an hour in 25 major cities in the United States.

“In Amazon’s case, they’re looking at third-party logistics, they’re looking at drones and all sorts of ways of delivering products at a very low price to reduce costs as much as possible. That’s the one way you’ll remain competitive,” he said.

“So absolutely, Loblaw, Metro and Sobeys are feeling the pressure,” he said.

“When you look at Canada, you could argue that maybe our top 10 cities could end up having access to that kind of service within the next 10 years or so.”

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca