Kroger is beginning ordering and curbside pickup today (Thursday) at its store in Vinton at 915 Hardy Road in the Lake Drive Shopping Center.

Customers can now order their groceries from a computer or mobile device and pick them up curbside the same day. They pay online at the time they order.

Vinton is the fourth Kroger to have ClickList. “The response has been outstanding at the other stores in the Roanoke Valley,” said Allison McGee, spokesperson for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division. In the past year, Kroger has opened ClickList locations in Bonsack, West Salem and Cave Spring Corners.

Currently, Vinton is the only one with online payment.

“The ClickList feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from parents of young children, senior citizens, busy professionals and people who are mobility impaired,” added McGee.

“ClickList is saving our customers time and increasing the convenience for them,” said McGee. “Customers say their usual weekly shopping takes 90 minutes or more, and using ClickList reduces the time to 20 minutes.

“Online ordering is transforming how people shop for groceries,” said McGee.  “Customers select their groceries in the quietness of their home at a time of their choosing and do not have to enter the store.” Research indicates customers who prefer online shopping will drive as much as 50 miles to use ClickList.

More than 40,000 items are available through ClickList. They include fresh meat and produce. Virginia regulations prohibit the sale of tobacco, alcohol and pharmacy prescriptions. Hot foods and gift cards also are excluded.

According to an announcement by Kroger, ClickList is divided into three steps:

• Customers place their order at www.kroger.com/ClickList and select a time to pick it up at the store the same day. Kroger requires a minimum of four hours’ notice. Customers may order up to three days in advance. Customers pay online.
• A Kroger associate— called a “selector”— shops the store to fulfill the order. If an ordered item is not available, the selector will choose a substitute. If an item is not available in the size ordered, the selector will choose another size. Any changes will be wrapped separately, and the customer may decline the substituted item. If the item costs more than the customer’s selection, the customer will receive the lower price. The customer’s order is stored in a temperature-controlled room. Coupons electronically linked to a customer’s Kroger Plus Card are automatically redeemed to reduce the cost of the order. Paper coupons will be deducted at the time of pick-up.
• Another Kroger associate— called an “attendant”— delivers the groceries to the customer at a designated parking space at the front of the store. The “attendant” loads the order into the customer’s car. The process takes approximately five minutes.

Initially, Kroger is waiving the $4.95 service charge for each customer’s first three orders. No minimum purchase is required.

Kroger has created approximately 20 new jobs at the Vinton store to implement ClickList. The jobs include associates who shop for customers, assemble orders and deliver groceries to customers’ cars at curbside.

Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division has launched ClickList in 28 stores in West Virginia, Virginia and Ohio in the past 15 months.