Albertsons Piloting Pickup Lockers

Albertsons Companies is piloting modular fulfillment lockers in select Chicago Jewel-Osco and Bay Area Safeway stores to meet the growing demand for contactless fulfillment.

Delivered by Bell and Howell, the lockers are temperature-controlled and can be used both indoors and outside. Individual columns in the modular setup can be adjusted dynamically to ensure specific temperatures required to meet different order needs.

 “Contactless pick-up through our state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled lockers makes it even easier to shop with us,” said Chris Rupp, executive VP and chief customer and digital officer. “Whether customers choose to shop in our familiar neighborhood stores or through our websites and apps, we are ready to provide them with extraordinary service where and how they want to get their groceries. Our strategy to leverage technology and innovation to continue to grow our digital business is focused on creating products customers love that truly make their lives easier.”

The lockers will first be available in select Jewel-Osco locations in Chicago and are expected to be installed at select Safeway locations in the Bay Area later in the year. Customers who live in neighborhoods with stores with lockers will be notified of their availability through a new “PickUp” option when they shop on the store’s website or app.

Customers who select the option will be asked to select a time window to pick up their groceries. Once customers complete their purchase, they receive a unique code to access the items.

Albertsons, which reported a 276% increase in digital sales in its first fiscal quarter, operates around 2,250 retail food and drug stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 banners.