Notes and Thoughts on Grocery 2.0

In a recent article on “SC Now.com” reporter Nicholas Hilbourn interviews a local South Carolina Mom who uses and raves about Piggly Wiggly’s online grocery shopping program “Click N’ Shop”:

“When Jennifer Gard moved to Florence from Raleigh, N.C., she already was accustomed to shopping for her groceries online. She just made her order online at night and picked it up at the grocery store the next morning.
Six months ago, she was happy to find out a local Piggly Wiggly had picked up on the trend and was offering online shopping through its recently acquired Click N’ Shop program.  Gard, a mother of three young children, said the program is a welcome relief.  ‘I don’t have a lot of time during the week, so I don’t like to spend an entire day at the supermarket,’ she said. Gard said she does her shopping at night after her children have gone to bed and then picks up her groceries the next morning.

Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company Assistant Marketing Director Christy Boudolf said there has been a steady increase in online grocery orders since the program’s inception in June 2008.  ‘The popularity seems to stem from customers valuing convenience! It’s a time saver, and you can shop from home and look at what you have in the pantry or refrigerator,’ she said in an e-mail to the Morning News. ‘Many parents appreciate that they can drive up for a quick pick up, rather than unloading the children to shop in the store with them.’”

Piggly Wiggly associate Lori Zigari using hand held order technology. Photo by John Russell, Morning News.

To continue reading the full story please click here.

Ready to try online shopping with Piggly Wiggly?  Start now!

Cheers!

Courtney

Your business has a new online service and you want your consumer’s to know about it; how do you accomplish this? This was the question Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., Inc. was asking when they launched their online grocery shopping application powered by MyWebGrocer in May 2008. Order count was on the rise but Piggly Wiggly wanted to see more.

Piggly Wiggly opted for MyWebGrocer’s marketing services package which includes flyers, receipt holders, email announcements, and an online shopping how to guide. The first marketing tactic that they launched was the email announcement. This email announced that online grocery shopping was now available at certain Piggly Wiggly locations. It was sent to their large customer email base and had a positive response. The announcement went out in the beginning of July and by the end of the month they had an increase in orders immediately. Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. is seeing an average order growth rate of 53% month over month.
“MyWebGrocer graciously approached us regarding a trial of their New Store Marketing Program to promote our online shopping service,” explains Christy Boudolf, Assistant Marketing Director. “They seeded us with great tactics for a strong in-store marketing presence including: online shopping flyers, register receipt envelopes, email announcement text, shopping cart signs, and more. We took many of their ideas and added some of our own– outdoor in a suburban segment of our home market, radio spots in select markets, additional email blasts, uniform vests with our Click ‘n Shop logo for personal shoppers and baggers and lapel buttons for front end employees. MyWebGrocer’s ideas provided a needed jumpstart to our program. Our store employees were excited with the influx of materials to help share the message of our online shopping service with our time-starved guests.”
“Online Shopping is not a ‘build it and they will come’ service”, adds Curt Alpeter, Sr. Vice President of Sales for MyWebGrocer. “It takes online and offline marketing efforts to build the interest and the simple fact the service is available. Over the years we have seen what marketing efforts work and which do not. Our new Marketing Services offering is meant to keep our Retailers from re-inventing the wheel in this area.”
Combining these types of services with comprehensive search engine marketing tools provides a solid marketing base for any retailer trying to be successful with online shopping.
About Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company: A Charleston, S.C., based Supermarket Company founded in 1947. Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company today is the largest 100% employee-owned, privately operated retail company in South Carolina. The Company has more than 105 stores and over 5,000 employee owners throughout South Carolina and southeastern Georgia.