September 22, 2009
CONTACT: Frank Guglielmi (616) 826-6747
frank.guglielmi@meijer.com
MEIJER INTRODUCES PERSONAL SHOPPER CONCEPT IN CHICAGOLAND WITH NEW GROCERY EXPRESS SERVICE
Online Orders Delivered Directly to a Shopper’s Car; Innovative Program Offered at Meijer Stores in St. Charles and Aurora
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Continuing to adapt to its customers’ changing needs, Meijer has launched its latest innovative program for time-starved shoppers in Chicagoland: Grocery Express, a service that combines the convenience of online shopping with the ease, speed and attention offered by a personal shopper.
The program, which is now offered at the Meijer stores in St. Charles and Aurora, allows shoppers to select grocery and health & beauty care products online at www.meijergroceryexpress.com, and have them delivered to their car at a designated location within the store’s parking lot.
The charge for an individual order is $6.95. The program also offers a $24.95 subscription for unlimited orders during a 30-day period. Meijer will accept debit or credit cards, EBT Cash, EBT Food and checks as forms of payment.
“Grocery Express is another example of the ways in which Meijer is working to accommodate our busy shoppers,” said Rob Fleener, vice president of business development and e-commerce at Meijer. “People can shop online and three hours later they can pull up to the store and receive their order hand delivered by a Personal Shopper. It’s a great convenience for customers.”
After placing their orders online, shoppers select a scheduled pick-up time -- anywhere from three hours to seven days from the time of their orders. Shoppers can change their orders up to three hours prior to their pick-up time, and can even change their arrival times if they’re running late.
When an order is ready for pick-up, shoppers will pull in to the designated parking space at the store, then can call the Grocery Express numbers or push a “call button” on the outside of the Grocery Express entry door to let their Personal Shopper know that they have arrived. Pick-up time slots are from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Meijer customers in Aurora can call (630) 692-6125 for the service while those in St. Charles can call (630) 762-7225.
For those with special requests on how a particular order is bagged, there is a “Special Instructions” section on the online form where shoppers enter information for their Personal Shopper. In addition, the Grocery Express system will automatically give the customer the lowest price at the time of pick-up and all sale pricing will be reflected at the time of payment.
“We first launched this program about a year ago at one of our Grand Rapids area stores and customer feedback has been terrific,” said Fleener. “The average basket size has been about 50 items and our customers really love the convenience.”
Meijer’s Grocery Express website has more than 27,000 items available to order. The most popular items delivered through the service are baby items such as diapers and formula, along with staples such as milk, bread, eggs and cereal. Since the program began in Grand Rapids, most customers place and pick-up their orders within 24 hours.
Currently, the Grocery Express program does not include pharmacy, general merchandise, cosmetics products, alcohol or tobacco products as part of the service. Many general merchandise items are available for online purchase and home delivery at meijer.com. Additionally, Meijer offers online bulk grocery sales through its “Grocery By The Case” program, also available at meijer.com.
About Meijer
Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Michigan, based retailer that operates 189 supercenters throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. As the inventor of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Additional information on Meijer and the ability to shop for more can be found at www.meijer.com.
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