Kroger Adding C&C at Mariano’s

Chicago-area grocery chain Mariano’s has unveiled plans to launch click-and-collect service at select locations, the Chicago Tribune has reported.

The Kroger-owned chain will first launch its ClickList online shopping service at its location in the suburb of Vernon Hills, Ill., followed by stores in Oak Lawn, Ill., and Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood this summer, the newspaper said. It’ll add the option to seven more stores by the year’s end, continuing to roll it out to its 41 stores planned for next year. Rollout is occurring one store at a time to ensure a smooth process with minimal issues.

The service, available for a flat fee of $4.95, will allow shoppers at the Windy City chain to choose from more than 30,000 items and indicate preferences through the ClickList app, the Tribune said. Also available will be a limited selection of prepared foods, including smoothies and rotisserie chickens. Alcohol, too, will be available, upon municipality approval for each location.

Upon order filling, a Mariano’s team member calls the customer to check whether anything else is needed, the newspaper reported. An average of seven employees per store will be trained in food selection and safety.

Formally dubbed ClickList in fall 2015, the click-and-collect service came into existence following Kroger’s 2014 merger with regional grocer Harris Teeter, which gave Kroger access to the Matthews, N.C.-based chain’s Express Lane technology as a starting point. In the past year alone, the Cincinnati-based grocery company has expanded the service in a number of markets across the United States, from Southern California to Atlanta, and even celebrated the launch of its 500th ClickList location, in Delhi, Ohio, last fall. Kroger rang in 2017 with the announcement that it plans to double the number of ClickList locations in central Ohio.