Ralphs Introduces Online Grocery Shopping

Ralphs Grocery Company is inviting customers to take advantage of the convenience of online grocery shopping with curbside pickup at its Carlsbad store (7140 Avenida Encinas).

Ralphs Carlsbad store debuted the online grocery shopping service, ClickList, on August 5, making it the first Ralphs in California to offer the service.

ClickList, which is exclusive to Ralphs' parent company, the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co, allows customers to shop online and pick up and pay for their order curbside. Ralphs Carlsbad location is the first of 12 Ralphs stores scheduled to offer the online shopping service by the end of the year.

Nationally, Kroger has been testing online shopping and collecting customers' feedback about the service since November 2014. Currently, ClickList is featured in more than 120 stores in seven Kroger divisions across the country. The introduction of ClickList to Ralphs in the Southern California market illustrates the evolution of customers embracing technology to enhance their shopping experiences.

"We want to be able to offer our customers anything, anytime, anywhere," says Valerie Jabbar, president of Ralphs. "It's important that we stay ahead of our competition. Our customers' lifestyles are constantly changing, and we have to change with them. It's exciting to be part of something that makes such a big a difference in the lives of our customers."

How does ClickList work? Customers simply visit www.ralphs.com/ClickList, and create a free, online account. Next the customer selects a participating store and chooses from 40,000 offered products, which are categorized and sorted for easy viewing and selection. The customer builds their digital cart by clicking and adding products. Once the customer has completed their online shopping, they select an available pick-up time.

Inside the store, a dedicated team of Ralphs ClickList associates works diligently to make this process appear seamless for the customer. At the appropriate time and based on pickup preference, a ClickList Selector will hand pick the items for each order. These items are carefully placed in the appropriate holding areas until pick-up time, including refrigerated or frozen foods.

At pickup time, the customer drives to a clearly marked area near the front of the store, and a Ralphs ClickList Customer Attendant brings the order to their car, takes payment and loads the groceries.

ClickList also allows customers to include special instructions with their orders. A shopper, for example, may request green bananas or an avocado soft enough to eat the next day. They may ask for a thin steak or thinly-cut deli meats.

"Our dedicated team of ClickList associates have been specially trained to shop for our customers as they would if they were shopping for their own families," says Jabbar. "Our ClickList associates have been taught to keep quality and freshness top of mind and they are required to check the dates on products and confirm customers receive items with the longest shelf life."

ClickList includes no minimum or maximum orders and online shoppers may purchase most products Ralphs offers, including over-the-counter health and beauty products, tobacco and liquor. Some seasonal items, hot foods and pharmacy prescriptions cannot be purchased.

As an introductory offer, Ralphs is waiving the $6.95 ClickList service charge for a customer's first three orders.

Over the next five months, Ralphs plans to introduce the ClickList online ordering service to stores located in Burbank, Granada Hills, Indio, Long Beach, Los Angeles/Ladera Heights, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Redondo Beach, Seal Beach, Van Nuys and Westchester.