If you are one of the lucky ducks who lives where the commissary is piloting its Click2Go curbside pick-up program, you are in the money for an extra year, commissary officials recently announced.
The program, which allows shoppers to select their groceries online and then have them delivered to their cars at designated parking spots outside the commissary, was started as a test program in 2013 at three commissaries nationwide -- Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska, Fort Lee, Virginia and Travis Air Force Base, California.
The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) decided to keep the pilot program "until further notice," in a "effort to validate how we deliver online ordering/curbside pickup and improve customer service," Kevin Robinson, a DeCA spokesman, said in a statement. The program, starting in the summer of 2013, was originally to only last a year.
The Click2Go system seems like a pretty sweet deal for those who have access to it. It does not come with an extra fee or any minimum order. You simply select your items online and pick them up and pay for them from your car. No hauling your kids into the commissary. No worrying about those crowded aisles. Easy.
The key Click2Go demographic, Robsinon said, are users are between 18 and 34-years-old who may not be otherwise shopping at the commissary. But results from the first year show that there is also high usage among 35 to 54-year-olds who have increased their commissary use because they go shop online.
Here are some more facts about how the Click2Go program works.
More than $1.5 million in sales have been made through the Click2Go system since Fort Lee launched it's version of the program in July, 2013. The average purchase size is about $103, commissary officials said. Over 14,000 orders have been placed.
Unfortunately officials do not have any plans to expand the program right now to other commissaries (we reeeeeeeally wish it would come here to Fort Campbell, Kentucky where there's an apparent shortage of the prized car carts and a surplus of grumpy two-year-olds).
Officials said the biggest feedback they've gotten about the service is the important of communication from the employees who are gathering the items for the order.
"The most important piece of information gained from our patrons is how they appreciate our fulfillment workers taking the time to communicate with them," Robinson said. "If an item is out of stock and a suitable substitution is available, customers have expressed how pleased they are when they receive a call from our team members asking them their preference."
When the system launched, DeCA officials suggested that, if it was expanded, they could charge a fee for the surface. For now, however, it is free for users.
Have you used Click2Go? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
