EDMONTON – Grocery shopping is just a click away. Loblaw is rolling out a new online shopping service in the Capital Region.
The company launched “Click and Collect” Friday, which allows customers to order their groceries online and pick them up later at a specified location. The purchases will be delivered and loaded into their car, parked in a special area.
“We assemble the items and get it ready in a refrigerated area,” explained Jeremy Pee, senior vice president of commerce for Loblaw.
“When customers come, they call, and we bring the order out and even load it in their car for them.”
Edmonton is the first market in western Canada to offer the service, which will be available at four Real Canadian Superstore locations: South Edmonton Common, Spruce Grove, St. Albert and Stony Plain. Locations at Calgary Trail, Sherwood Park, Whitemud and Castle Downs are expected to be added in the next several weeks.
The service costs between $3 and $5, depending on the time of day.
People can order and arrange for pick-up at shop.superstore.ca.
“Everyone is time starved,” said Pee. “We all live busy lives and everyone is looking for ways save time in their lives. That’s why we brought this service – “Click and Collect – to Canadians and here to Edmonton as well.”
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Some shoppers are thrilled with the idea.
“I think it’s a really good idea for seniors,” said one woman who was shopping for a friend battling lung cancer. “I’m going to be recommending it…It’s an excellent, excellent price…I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
But not everyone is thrilled. Another shopper said she prefers to see the produce for herself.
“It’s probably very convenient, but I’m very picky so I’d rather just come myself.”
Michael Kalmanovitch, owner of Earth’s General Store, has concerns of his own. He said larger companies are trying to be all things to all people.
“We’re getting a little bit more… but it’s a non-personal service.”
He also feels it’s another way people are losing touch with food.
“As we get more and more disengaged with our food, we will not respect the way that it’s produced, the way it’s handled, the way we eat it. We’re already at a bad juncture.”
A local marketing professor said many companies have attempted similar services in the past.
“People keep trying to do it and it’s really unclear what the advantages are, especially in a world where consumers maybe want to go to the grocery store as part of a social experience, they want to look at meat and fish and vegetables, they want to have that control over which particular item they select,” said John Pracejus, associate professor of marketing at the University of Alberta’s business school.
“But, on the flip side, there’s also a lot more value of time.”
The “Click and Collect” service has been available for stores in the Toronto area for more than a year and in Ottawa since last June.
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