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Offutt commissary to offer on-line shopping

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OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Team Offutt's Commissary shoppers will be able to click their way to a full cupboard beginning Sept. 25 thanks to a new program called "CLICK2GO."

Offutt joins Fort Lee, Va., as the second of three locations where the Defense Commissary Agency will test a new internet-ordering and curbside pickup service.

"[The Defense Commissary Agency] seeks to stay relevant with what commissary patrons want and keep pace with evolving shopping trends without driving up agency operating costs," said Joseph H. Jeu, Defense Commissary Agency director and CEO.

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 pick-up time at the curbside location and they pick-up and pay for the products they ordered.

"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 - what's called e-commerce and m-commerce - as ways to provide the commissary benefit of the 21st century," Jeu said.

Like all new programs, CLICK2GO could pose some challenges for DeCA, which is why they're testing it at various locations before implementing it worldwide. The commissary at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., will join the test next month.

"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 website for detailed information about the program but here is a brief summary of how it works:

· An authorized commissary customer logs on to DeCA's website at www.commissaries.com, any time day or night and selects CLICK2GO Shop & Curbside Pickup, then Offutt Air Force Base Commissary. After authenticating their identity, they choose 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.

· When the customer is finished shopping, they check out. 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 cards and debit cards that process like credit.

· While 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 Offutt Air Force Base Commissary will open Sept. 25.

"We think many of our patrons will benefit from the convenience of curbside pickup, and we're excited to be the second test store to offer this service," said Anthony Chaki, Offutt Air Force Base Commissary store director. "DeCA is offering CLICK2GO with no service fee during the testing period."

"DeCA will assess CLICK2GO and evaluate customer usage, cost and impact on overall store operations and customer service during the test," said Gordon Jones, director of DeCA's Business Development Directorate.

"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."