ShopRite Introduces Virtual Dietitian Program
ShopRite supermarket’s newly launched Registered Dietitian Virtual Chat program enables shoppers to ask questions about diet and nutrition without having to go to a store for an in-person consultation. The innovative service is available on ShopRite’s website.
Visitors to the site will encounter a pop-up box that prompts them to chat with a member of ShopRite’s team of registered dietitians (RDs), who are available on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the dietitian is chatting with another customer, the shopper can leave a message, and the dietitian will respond when available.
“Ever since we launched the in-store ShopRite dietitian program nearly 14 years ago, we’ve been creating new and expanded ways to help our customers take advantage of the wealth of expertise and knowledge that our team of dietitians have to offer,” noted Natalie Menza-Crowe, director of health and wellness for ShopRite, and a registered dietitian herself. “I’m especially excited about launching this program because it means we can now provide all of our customers – both those that shop in our stores, as well as those that are shopping with us online – with quick, easy and simple ways to get nutritional advice from licensed health professionals, at no charge, when and where they need it most.”
The RD virtual chat program launched last December in collaboration with Hero, a service that allows online shoppers to text, chat and video call with their preferred retailers.
“Customers want the personalized service of in-store, with the convenience of online shopping,” said Alistair Crane, CEO of London- and New York-based Hero. “Our messaging app – designed for experts in stores to instantly connect with online customers – provides online customers the guidance they need, in the most convenient, personal way. We’re delighted to partner with ShopRite to bring the power of conversational commerce to their locations and customers.”
Begun in 2006, ShopRite’s in-store RD program has more than 100 registered dietitians at 140-plus ShopRite stores across the banner’s Northeast footprint. The RDs provide such complimentary services as one-on-one consultations, supermarket tours, support groups, classes, kids’ and adults’ cooking classes and in-store product samplings.
According to Menza-Crowe, the RD chat is the first of its kind to be offered in the Northeast by a major supermarket operator. “We think that this is a fantastic way to leverage new technologies on our website and provide additional free services to our customers,” she added.
The banner’s website also offers customers the ability to sign up for free dietitian consultations and in-store classes and events.
ShopRite is a registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, N.J. With nearly 280 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves millions of customers each week. Wakefern is No. 8 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States,
