Commissary to test online odering plan

  • Published
  • By Defense Commissary Agency Public Affairs
  • Defense Commissary Agency Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Starting Nov. 6, Travis becomes the third location to introduce Click2Go, a commissary program that allows patrons to buy gorceries online and pick them up curbside.

Travis joins Fort Lee, Va., and Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., as the third location where the Defense Commissary Agency will test a new Internet-ordering and curbside pickup service as it seeks to stay relevant with what commissary patrons want and keep pace with evolving shopping trends without driving up agency operating costs, according to Joseph H. Jeu, DeCA director and CEO.

"Throughout its history, the commissary benefit has adapted to meet its customers' needs and we must not ignore the increasing use of online and smart phone technologies -e-commerce and m-commerce - as ways to provide the commissary benefit of the 21st century," Jeu said.

Click2Go is a straightforward process. Authorized commissary shoppers access the system from DeCA's website. Patrons select from a wide variety of commissary products offered online based on the store's stock assortment. They shop online, check out and select an available pickup time. Patrons go to the commissary at their designated pickup time and at the curbside location they pick up and pay for the products they ordered.

Click2Go poses challenges, which is why the agency began testing it at Fort Lee in June and at Offutt AFB in September. The commissary at Travis is the third and final commissary scheduled to be part of the test.

"We're looking at everything from customers' expectations to our ability to deliver such a service efficiently and effectively. This is all part of our commitment to understanding our customers and deliver a 21st century commissary benefit," Jeu said.

Patrons can access the agency's website for detailed information about the program, but here's how it works:

· An authorized commissary customer logs on to DeCA's website, www.commissaries.com, any time day or night and selects Click2Go Shop & Curbside Pickup, then Travis Commissary. After authenticating identity, the customer chooses from among nearly 21,000 items. It's the full assortment of grocery - or center-store - items, and a refined assortment of the top selling random-weight items, for example: fresh meat, fresh seafood and deli and bakery items. As the customer shops online, the virtual shopping basket is updated to reflect the items and prices.

· The customer checks out when finished shopping. At checkout, the customer selects a pickup time presented by the system. The pickup time is at least four hours from the order time.

· Once the order has been received at the commissary, a fulfillment worker will gather the items the customer has chosen. The items will be kept in a temperature-appropriate holding area and loaded into the customer's vehicle when the customer arrives to pick up the order.

· The customer pays for the groceries at curbside - without having to leave the vehicle. The accepted forms of payment are credit and debit cards.

· Customers can order at any time, the days to pick up orders are limited to Wednesday, Thursday or Friday during the store's normal hours of operation.
The Click2Go ordering site designated for the Travis Commissary will open Tuesday.

"We think many of our patrons will benefit from the convenience of curbside pickup and we're excited to be the third test store to offer this service," said Mitchell Kennerly, Travis Commissary store director.

"DeCA is offering Click2Go with no service fee during the testing period," Kennerly said.

DeCA will assess Click2Go and evaluate customer usage, cost and impact on overall store operations and customer service during the test, said Gordon Jones, DeCA's Business Development Directorate director.

"Determining all the nuances and costs of this way to provide the commissary benefit are major goals of our test so we're starting with no charge to customers at first, but expect that to change at some point after the first year of testing," Jones said. "During the test we'll be learning and adapting as we go along - engaging our customers to help shape the commissary benefit."