Vallarta Supermarkets adopts white-label e-commerce platform

Vallarta Supermarkets has tapped digital commerce specialist Stor.ai to optimize its online grocery shopping, delivery and fulfillment systems.

New York-based Stor.ai said its end-to-end digital commerce platform gives grocers an expanded range of digital services to keep up with evolving consumer demand while preserving their brand identities, customer data and profit margins.

For Sylmar, Calif.-based Vallarta Supermarkets, which operates 53 stores throughout California, Stor.ai’s solution stands to sharpen order picking and fulfillment operations. The platform provides real-time monitoring and controls, accommodates multiple picking methods (such as single and batch/zone), enables full-service department order scheduling and automates communications with online customers.

In addition, the system helps retailers gauge staff productivity and track order fulfillment accuracy, as well as provides tools to schedule and scale staff based on order volume, according to Stor.ai.

“We have been searching extensively for an e-commerce provider capable of meeting customer expectations without eroding the profitability of our picking, fulfillment and delivery operations,” Vallarta Supermarkets Chief Information Officer Steve Netherton said in a statement. "By partnering with Stor.ai we hope to raise our e-commerce performance to the next level while ensuring that customers enjoy a true Vallarta experience, whether they shop online or in-store.”

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Stor.ai noted that its platform also is design to avoid the potential pitfalls of grocery retailers relying solely on third-party e-commerce providers. According to the technology firm, online grocery shopping previously had developed separately from the in-store experience, creating a “fractured” rather than an omnichannel shopping experience. Meanwhile, Stor.ai said its solution consolidates digital customer engagement across all touchpoints into one platform while providing functionality from personalized e-commerce to optimized picking.

“Our partnership with Vallarta is a clear market endorsement of Stor.ai’s unique proposition,” according to Charlie Ward Wright, president of North America for Stor.ai. “Vallarta identified a need for advanced, customer-friendly e-commerce solutions that enable stores to maximize e-commerce profitability in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace, and we felt that our product offering suited Vallarta's needs perfectly.”