Mercatus, a leading provider in digital commerce solutions for grocery retail, today announced Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment, a white-labeled, retailer-owned experience available to Mercatus-equipped grocers. The solution combines ShopperKit’s industry-leading fulfillment technology and Radius Networks’ advanced location-based communications capabilities to offer a world-class online shopping, fulfillment and curbside pickup experience.
Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment gives grocers the ability to meet growing demand for curbside pickup on their terms, while offering essential shopping services, increasing profit margin and the ability to scale their business for long-term growth. The all-in-one solution is made possible by combining the best of ShopperKit and Radius Networks’ FlyBuy Pickup technology. Grocers benefit by extending their brand experience beyond the store and meeting shoppers’ needs with increased time slot availability, real-time two-way communication, contact-free pickup and delivery, and record-low wait times at pickup.
With Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment, online orders made through the Mercatus platform are automatically sorted by ShopperKit into optimized preparation times, and wave and zone pick paths. As employees pick and pack orders, they can connect with customers in real time for order substitutions and upsells. With real-time visibility into customer location from Radius Networks’ FlyBuy Pickup, employees can accurately track customer ETA for a seamless pickup experience.
Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment is designed to scale as the grocer’s business requires. Retailers can easily configure intelligent wave and zone pick based on fulfillment environment, whether that be retail locations, dark stores, warehouses, micro-fulfillment centers or a combination of each.
“This partnership unlocks an enterprise-class, turnkey solution that gives grocers control of their online business through battle-tested technologies designed for the unique eGrocery challenges of online ordering, fulfillment, curbside and last-mile success,” said Jack Record, CEO, ShopperKit.
With the safety of shoppers and store employees paramount, Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment delivers on the promise of a truly contact-free shopping experience. Seamless digital communication between store associates and shoppers happens across the entire fulfillment cycle, from in-store pick to curbside pickup. Automatic tracking and communication of shopper location enables store associates to coordinate orders and deliver them straight to the trunk of a shopper’s car, within two minutes of arrival for pickup.
“Visibility into the entire customer journey, from the moment they place their order, to the moment they pick up their groceries, is crucial for the success of a curbside or BOPIS program,” said Jeff Baskin, EVP of global partnerships, Radius Networks. “Droves of new eCommerce customers have been forced to try curbside pickup out of necessity, but will continue to use the service out of convenience.”
“Coming out of the pandemic and the unprecedented volume of online orders many grocery retailers have experienced, now is the time to ensure those newly acquired online shoppers have the best fulfillment experience possible,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO, Mercatus. “Relying on third parties for fulfillment can be costly not only to the bottom line but also to the retailer’s brand. Grocer-managed ordering and pickup services increase share of profit for the grocer and cost less for customers.Mercatus Enhanced Fulfillment gives regional grocers a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded digital grocery landscape by providing best-in-class fulfillment and customer communication technology integrated in one solution.”
