Kroger Introduces Online Grocery Shopping in Houston

The Kroger Houston division has launched ClickList, an online grocery ordering service, at select stores in the area, including Baytown (6315 Garth Road), Cypress (9703 Barker Cypress Road), Galveston (5730 Seawall Boulevard) and Tomball (24350 Kuykendahl Road). As an introductory offer, Kroger will waive the $4.95 service charge for a customer's first three orders.

ClickList, which is exclusive to Kroger, allows customers to shop online and pick up their order curbside at a participating store location. The aforementioned stores are a few of the 22 locations expected to operate the new service by the beginning of fall 2016.

Nationally, Kroger has been testing online shopping and collecting customers' feedback about the service since November 2014. The introduction of ClickList to the Houston market illustrates the evolution of customers embracing technology to enhance their shopping experiences.

"Feedback from our customers, and other regions, who tested ClickList was overwhelmingly positive and very useful in helping us make changes and improvements before we introduced the service locally," says Bill Breetz, president of the Kroger Houston division. "We know today's customers are continuously looking for ways to increase their productivity yet simplify their lives. We are certain this online shopping service will offer young families, seniors, disabled customers and other shoppers an easier and more convenient way to grocery shop."

A customer can go online to create a free, online account. Next, the customer can select a participating store and select from 40,000 offered products, which are categorized and sorted for easy viewing and selection. The customer can build their digital cart by clicking and adding products. Once the customer has completed their online shopping, they will select an available pick-up time. A dedicated ClickList employee is then assigned the order and handpicks the customer's items based on personal preferences provided. The products are stored appropriately (including refrigeration or freezing) until the customer arrives for pick up. Finally, the customer drives up to the clearly marked pick-up area to notify the ClickList team of their arrival, and to pay and have the groceries loaded to their car.

Over the next few months, Kroger plans to introduce ClickList to additional stores located in Beaumont, Cypress, Energy Corridor, Oak Forest, Northeast Houston, Katy, Kingwood, League City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Spring, Sugar Land, West University and Willis.