King Kullen boosts online grocery functionality

Regional grocer King Kullen is expanding its online grocery retail and media capabilities.

The Bethpage, N.Y.-based chain has begun an upgrade of its MyWebGrocer e-commerce platform. Plans call for the updates to be implemented in phases over the rest of the year, with the rollout expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.

New online shopping features will include a unified cart and list capability. That will enable customers to seamlessly build lists when accessing King Kullen’s graphical weekly ad, planning meals using the retailer’s archive of recipes and shopping via the chain’s online grocery service.

King Kullen expects the added functionality — along with personalized offers, merchandising and product discovery through sponsored listings — to bolster customer loyalty and conversion, since it will be easier for shoppers to add new and more relevant items to their online shopping cart.

“Today, our customers expect speed and convenience without having to sacrifice the quality of service we provide. Upgrading our MyWebGrocer technology platform will allow us to continue to deliver a world-class customer experience better than any other grocer on Long Island,” said Joseph Brown, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at King Kullen.

Meanwhile, on the back end, order management and picking software upgrades are slated to boost online order fulfillment rates and lessen the distance that staff must walk when filling orders.

“By eliminating inefficiencies, we’re helping level the grocery delivery playing field to enable great independent grocers like King Kullen to compete with huge chains and new entrants like Amazon,” explained Barry Clogan, president of retail Ssolutions for MyWebGrocer. “Decreasing picking times and accelerating order fulfillment has tremendous positive impact for retailers. When you can fill more orders per hour, you can scale customer base and attract and retain more customers.”

The upgraded platform stands to help King Kullen serve a growing base of online grocery shoppers. Earlier this year, the grocer expanded coverage of its Shop OnLine same-day grocery delivery service to include a half-dozen additional communities in Long Island’s Suffolk County. The service already served all of Nassau County, parts of Queens and much of Suffolk.

Shop OnLine offers online grocery delivery and pickup service to about 120 towns through King Kullen’s Bay Shore, Bridgehampton, Fire Island, Garden City Park and Island Park locations. Pickup is available only at those five outlets.

Orders are picked by trained personal shoppers, who will call customers with any questions or if order substitutions are needed. Shoppers can receive their groceries at their home or office in as soon as two hours. The minimum order size is $50, and delivery fees range from $6 to $11.99, depending on the order amount. Click-and-collect service costs $6.

Overall, King Kullen operates 32 stores and five Wild by Nature organic/natural supermarkets across Long Island.