Publix tests grocery pickup service

Publix today quietly launched a grocery pickup service squarely targeted at the busiest of its customers.

At a test location in Tampa and Atlanta, customers can pre-order their groceries online, and pick them up at a special curbside pickup spot at the store - similar to curbside pickup offered by many restaurants.

The first two store locations are in Atlanta, and one in Tampa opening up today at 7835 Gunn Highway near the Westfield Citrus Park shopping mall. Publix officials say they will monitor the service for about a year before deciding whether to offer it at other stores.

"Whoever I shop for is going to love it - especially for produce because I'm so, so picky myself," said Rachel Tran, a Publix Curbside Personal Shopper at the Citrus Park location.

In the past, Publix has tried online grocery ordering, with delivery at home. But the service didn't take off well enough to continue.

This new approach is a cautious test at Publix to gauge customer demand for a service that blends parts of the e-commerce world without the at-home delivery service that doomed several dot-com grocery startups.

"I would absolutely use it," said Maureen Mele, a customer at the Citrus Park store who shops there at least once a week. "It's not even necessarily the time savings. It's just the convenience of getting in and out of the store with kids."

Here's how the system works:

First, customers start an online account at Publix.com/curbside, and select items off an interactive list, then chose a 30-minute window for pickup. The system then presents an estimated price total, primarily because weights for produce, meat and deli items will fluctuate.

Publix employees at the store then download the customer's list and shop the aisles, filling a cart. A handheld electronic scanner can read product bar codes to confirm they're getting exactly what a customer wants.

Customers then drive to the store and park in designated pickup spaces, then push an intercom button, similar to a drive-in restaurant. Publix staff then match the customers to their list, then load up groceries into the car. At that point, customers can turn in any coupons or exchanges, and make their payment with cash, credit or check as they would at any checkout lane in the store.

Publix started offering the service Tuesday as part of a long learning process, meant to iron out dozens of details.

For instance, any sale or buy-one/get-one prices are effective at time of pickup.

Also, Publix installed rows of refrigerators in the store to keep items like deli meats, milk and eggs cool. Hot items like rotisserie chickens will be kept in the deli area until the last few minutes before a customer arrives.

Publix added a comment field to the online system where customers can, for instance, ask that curbside staff pick out extra green bananas, or extra thin deli meat slices. If certain items aren't available on the shelf for some reason, or in a particular size the customer expected, Publix staff will telephone customers back to make substitutions.

There is no minimum order required, but there is a $7.99 flat fee for each visit - waived on a customer's first trip. The system is designed to maintain multiple shopping lists for a given customer for any repeat orders.

And if customers drive up with kids in the car, Publix staff will still hand out a free cookie, just as if they shopped inside.