Jan. 7, 2020
By Patrick Shanks, Regional Vice President, Neighborhood Market Operations
Over the last couple of years, our stores have been testing grounds for all sorts of innovations to improve the shopping experience. From our Intelligent Retail Lab in New York to InHome Delivery in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, we’re learning a lot about how we can use our physical assets to deliver new conveniences to our customers in many ways.
In Miami, it’s no different, and customers there tell us what we’ve heard across the country: Saving time is just as important as saving money. This week, we’re opening a new Neighborhood Market in Coral Way, Florida, that offers a number of new technologies aimed at helping with just that:
- Online Grocery Pickup – Our first grocery pickup location in this part of Miami can fulfill hundreds of orders per day. Customers will be able to order online and pick up their groceries without unbuckling their seatbelts.
- Same-Day Grocery Delivery – Our specially trained personal shoppers pick out the best produce and grocery items to be delivered right to customers’ doorsteps.
- Expanded Checkout Options – We’re excited about being the first location in Florida to offer this fast, efficient checkout experience. We’ve tested expanded self-checkout at a prototype store in Arkansas, and customers tell us they have enjoyed the convenience and speed. This store will offer large basket self-checkout lanes that give the customer the option to scan the groceries themselves or have a Self-Check Out Host assist with the transaction.
- Check Out With Me – As we’ve seen in our Supercenters, customers love the option to skip the lines. Associates can check customers out anywhere in the store using handheld store devices, making that last-minute Marketside Pizza dinner even faster to purchase.
In addition to these services, the new store will have several of the conveniences Neighborhood Market shoppers enjoy across the country, including a pharmacy, full-service deli and a newly redesigned fresh produce department. The store will create about 100 new jobs.
I know customers will love this store, but I’m even more excited about how our associates will react to it. Associates across the country tell us they want to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time helping customers. By expanding self-checkout and adding Check Out With Me, associates will be on the sales floor where they can help customers – fast.
