Curbside pickup locations
Hixson: 5604 Hixson Pike, ChattanoogaRed Bank: 3901 Dayton Boulevard, Red BankOoltewah: Ooltewah-Ringgold Road, OoltewahCleveland: Crossing North, ClevelandVisit www.foodcity.com for more information and to view a curbside pickup shopping tutorial.
Food City officials say they're taking customer service one step further by adding curbside grocery pickup at select stores across the Southeast, including four stores in the greater Chattanooga area.
Starting next Monday, the first Food City will roll out curbside pickup. Stores in Hixson, Red Bank, Ooltewah and Cleveland will be among those stores that premiere the service.
Kevin Stafford, vice president of marketing at Virginia-based Food City, said company officials settled on the first curbside pickup stores through back-and-forth talks with regional and local managers.
"We tried to pick some stores that would be in some good locations, that would give the customers a chance to try the program out," he said.
The concept is simple: Shoppers go online and buy groceries through Food City's website, and at checkout, can add curbside pickup for an extra $5.
Curbside pickup is available daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A specially-trained employee at the shopper's pickup location walks the store and fills the order. Shoppers are asked to allow three hours between ordering and pickup, but Stafford said fulfillment will be same day.
"It's something we've been working on for several months," he said.
Each store rolling out curbside pickup has a dedicated, full-time employee on hand just for online orders and curbside fulfillment. Additionally, each store also has three part-time curbside fulfillment employees.
And that's in addition to existing staff.
"Those are brand-new jobs," Stafford said.
Food City hired online fulfillment, "professional shoppers" from within the company and back-filled those positions, as well.
For Food City, Stafford said officials hope to grow the chain's customer base, and customers tend to buy more, and bigger, when they shop online.
The addition of curbside pickup comes in a time when shoppers increasingly look to the Internet for a more convenient and faster shopping experience. Retailers with extensive brick-and-mortar infrastructure of all stripes are increasingly trying out new ways to meet shoppers in the middle, while maintaining a physical presence in those shoppers' communities.
Wal-Mart last year rolled out an expansion of its curbside pickup service in several markets across the U.S., but not in Chattanooga. Amazon.com also recently introduced same-day delivery of goods in some cities, but also not in Chattanooga.
Food City's move makes it the first major grocer to premiere curbside pickup here.
Steven C. Smith, president and CEO at Food City, said the company's curbside pickup service, dubbed GoCart, "combines the added convenience of drive-through service with the personalization of on-line shopping."
Shoppers can also see their purchases from the last 90 days online and schedule appointments to pick up groceries. Payment can be made by credit or debit either online or during pickup at the store.
Stafford said company officials plan to expand the availability of the service as demand grows.
In the meantime, "we tend to think we have an option customers are really going to like," he said.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.