Colruyt Group tests same-day delivery and pick-up with refrigerated lockers

Leen De Dobbeleer, Collect&Go.

Collect&Go has started a trial with same-day pick-up and same-day delivery. Another one of Colruyt Group‘s subsidiaries, Okay, is responsible for the assortment and preparing the orders.

Quick and easy

As a first in Belgium, Collect&Go installs refrigerated lockers where customers can collect fresh products on the day of ordering. This should allow customers in the Ghent region to turn to Colruyt Group’s online shopping service for smaller emergency orders. Orders made before 13:00 can be collected from 15:00 from refrigerated lockers at one supermarket or at the local Colruyt Group Academy. Another option is to have the order delivered by electric carrier bicycle from 16:00. The service costs 2.49 euros for the pick-up and 4.99 euros for the delivery.

“We see that our city-centre customers are less likely to do major grocery shopping, but rather visit a convenience store several times a week. Customers who live more in rural areas, in turn, need fresh products in the middle of the week. For both target groups we are now testing a quick and easy solution to pick up their products or have them delivered to their home at a time that suits them best”, Head of Innovation Leen De Dobbeleer explains.

Focus on fresh

Customers can choose from a range of 1,200 items, with a focus on fresh produce, such as vegetables, fruit, cold cuts or dairy. The service also offers dry food and a small ’emergency’ range of non-food. There is a minimum order value of 20 euros and a maximum of 100 euros.

The trial starts with nine lockers in both of the pick-up locations: that may not seem like much, but each locker is used several times a day. They are replenished from the shop and are accessible from 8:30 to 23:00. “With this restriction, we want to guarantee the quality and freshness of the products. Products do not stay in the lockers for more than four hours.” Colruyt Group now wants to learn from the test in the Ghent region for a few months before rolling out the new service elsewhere.