Meijer Expands Online Shopping Expansion in Detroit

Retailer grows Meijer Curbside service in Southeastern Michigan to 14 stores; will offer 33 locations in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois by end of year

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Meijer

Jun 23, 2016, 10:30 ET

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With another four Detroit area stores unveiling Meijer Curbside in the past few weeks, Meijer is continuing a big push this summer to increase locations that allow customers to shop online and enjoy the convenience of picking up their groceries curbside without leaving their vehicles.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer just added its Rochester Hills, Brighton, Fort Gratiot and Lapeer supercenters as Meijer Curbside locations and plans on completing its Southeastern Michigan plan in October, bringing the total number of stores offering the popular shopping option in the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas to 14. By year end, Meijer Curbside will be offered at 33 stores in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, including multiple locations in Lansing, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne.

"The way customers shop for food continues to change and our efforts to expand the number of stores where Meijer Curbside is offered is one more way we are bringing more convenience to our customers," said Michael Ross, vice president of Digital Shopping and Customer Marketing. "Providing an all-encompassing service that offers grocery, health and beauty and general merchandise items, and allows customers to pick up orders in as little as a few hours is a game changer for many of our shoppers."

Since launching the program at its Canton and Ann Arbor stores last year, Ross said that popular demand in Detroit has seen the number of orders more than double in the weeks following most store launches, and expects that number will eventually grow to 100 per day at some stores. He said more than 80 percent of weekly orders come from repeat customers, which demonstrates how quickly the shopping option of picking up their groceries curbside is gaining popularity especially among busy parents and young millennials.

The Meijer Curbside program enlists 15 specially-trained team members at each store to hand select every item in a customer's order, choose best available produce and meats, and shop according to special instructions and personal preferences. Orders are shopped prior to pick-up and dedicated refrigerators and freezers are used to keep grocery items fresh.

Customers shop for more than 80,000 of the most commonly shopped grocery and general merchandise - including health and beauty products, pet food, toys, Keurigs and Fitbits - and place orders online at Meijer.com/Curbside. Then customers select a preferred pick-up time between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily. For orders, customers can schedule pickup in about three hours. Orders can be placed up to five days in advance.

As a busy school teacher, Utica resident Melissa Wolfe said the last thing she and her husband want to do at the end of a long week is to go grocery shopping. But that's how she used to spend her Saturdays, until she tried Meijer Curbside at the Auburn Hills Meijer in April. Ever since, she and husband John have been enthusiastic repeat customers.

"Balancing full work weeks and weekly grocery shopping has never been easier," she said. "Curbside saves us at least 2 to 3 hours every weekend – and because we both have full-time jobs that demand a lot of our time during the week, our weekend hours are precious to us. We now put our weekly shopping list together throughout the week, sleep a little later on weekends and choose a pick-up time to get our groceries and pet food. For us, going grocery shopping is no longer a chore and we both get to sleep a little later and avoid long checkout lines on Saturdays."

For shoppers at the newly added Rochester Hills, Brighton, and Fort Gratiot stores, Meijer Curbside will be offered free through July 31. Following the initial phase, the service cost varies between $4.95 and $6.95 per order, depending on store.

About Meijer: Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 228 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. As a pioneer 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 apparel departments, garden centers and electronic offerings. For additional information on Meijer, please visit www.meijer.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/meijer and @twitter.com/meijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer.