Anne Howe

Publix is Back Online

August 10, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Publix closed its PublixDirect online grocery and home delivery service in August 2003, just two years after the service launched, due to insufficient volume. Now, the grocery chain is back with a test of an online grocery service, but this one will only include curbside pickup. Will Publix Curbside be successful where PublixDirect was not?      [more...]

I like this idea and the $7.99 price tag is not out of scope, especially for busy consumers. It's right to target busy moms, but as a busy boomer, this would work well for my lifestyle as well.

I am imagining myself back in Charleston, SC, working remotely from a condo out on Wild Dunes. When I can take a break, I'm choosing a bike ride, a beach walk or 9 holes of golf. There's a great Publix store nearby, where I will pull up and pick up my grocery order for the week after ordering online from my iPhone. Does it make sense to pay $8 to allocate the 60 minutes I would have spent in the store to an activity that is healthy, stress-reducing and fun? YES indeed it does.

I hope Publix uses shopper segmentation scenarios to communicate the message appropriately to the variety of shoppers it has in its geography.