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A central Illinois grocery-store chain will expand online and add mobile payments beginning this fall. The service enables consumers to use credit and debit cards along with electronic benefits transfer cards to pay for orders, says Ithaca, N.Y.-based Rosie Applications Inc., the vendor providing the technology.
The move by Quincy, Ill.-based Niemann Foods Inc. will double the number of its stores that offer online grocery ordering and delivery to four. The 50-store chain calls the service “Click & Go.”
Consumers can use a dedicated Web site, or an iOS or Android app, to log in and place their orders. While the service currently works with credit and debit cards—processed via Stripe unless the retailer wants to use its own payments processor—Rosie says support for EBT cards will arrive in the third quarter. Initially, EBT payments will be used only for in-person pick-ups, with the option to use it for delivery coming later. The service also will add support for PayPal accounts later.
Upon pickup of his groceries, which are selected by the store’s personal shopper, the consumer supplies a six-character confirmation code that had been emailed by Rosie. Each code is unique to a particular order.
The service shows how online and mobile ordering technology is coming to small supermarket chains. Larger grocers offer similar services, such as those from Peapod LLC, an online-only grocer, and AmazonFresh from Amazon.com Inc.
Smaller chains—Rosie works with 44 locations, according to its Web site—see the service as a way to offer a value-added service to its shoppers, a Rosie spokesperson says. It makes grocery shopping easier for those with disabilities or transportation issues.
It also can be a competitive advantage, often as a way to beat larger rivals to market, the spokesperson says.
