ROANOKE COUNTY (WSLS10)-- The Bonsack Kroger is changing the way people in our area shop, making it easier for parents and busy customers to do their grocery store shopping on the go. The Kroger Clicklist program opened at that location in May and has gotten a huge response over the past two months.
The Bonsack store has the highest rated customer satisfaction for the Clicklist program in the entire Midatlantic Division. Part of the reason customers say they love it so much is because of how easy it is to use. Shoppers just log onto the site, search for all of the items they need and place their order. Once the order is in, Kroger employees go through the store, picking up all of the items that were ordered. Then at the specific pick-up time, customers pull into a Clicklist parking spot and all of the groceries, even cold and frozen items, are bagged up and brought out to their vehicle.
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While anyone can use the service, George Anderson, the Manager of E-Commerce for the Midatlantic Division, says it's a service that really appeals to busy moms who want to avoid taking their kids into the store.
"We;re actually hearing from them that we're saving them about an hour and a half a say," says Anderson. "It's normally a two-hour trip with the children tagging along. They now spend about a half hour total, including ordering and coming to pick up. We're really pleased that we can give people back time in their day."
Anderson says every Kroger Clicklist website is store specific, meaning you only see the items that are sold in your specific store-- but you see all of them, with more than 40,000 grocery items available online.
When Clicklist launched at the Bonsack store, 25 new jobs were added to keep up with demand. Those employees were hired specifically to work for Clicklist-- putting together the finalized grocery lists, picking up the ordered items and delivering them to the vehicles. For each store that adds Clicklist, 20 to 40 new jobs are created in the region.
Those are new jobs we could see even more of in the coming years, as Kroger works to add Clicklist to more stores in the Roanoke Valley. It's a process that's already in the works, but could take some time.
"Our stores weren't built for Clicklist," says Anderson. "We have to look at each individual store as we look at the demographics of who shops at the store as well as whether we have the square footage to handle Clicklist. We have to provide a new freezer and refrigerated area. So we take a look at where we may have extra space and remodel that space for Clicklist."
It's not only space in the store that's needed, but outside as well-- with specific parking spots designated for Clicklist pickups.
There are already more than 100 stores that offer the online service in the Midatlantic Region and we can expect to see even more in the coming months and year.