CINCINNATI, OH – Kroger Co is testing online grocery shopping in the Cincinnati area.  Customers will be able to order groceries online and then pick them up in the store.

The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that this test program is based off of the click-and-collect online ordering system that has been successful for Harris Teeter stores.

Rachael Betzler, a spokeswoman for Kroger’s Cincinnati/Dayton Division, told the Courier that the test program is beginning with the employees at the Liberty Township Kroger Marketplace.  Customers will be able to place their orders online and go to the store to pick up the groceries at a drive-up window.

"Our approach with new technologies and systems is to test small and work out the kinks before scaling more widely," said Betzler. "So, we’re starting very small with our associates at Liberty Township, then we’ll open this location to customers, and once we are successfully implementing the program in one store, we’ll expand to other stores here in Cincinnati and eventually on to other divisions as well."

This new test comes after Kroger strengthened its online presence with its $280 million acquisition of Vitacost.com, an online vitamin retailer.

Rodney McMullen, Chief Executive Officer of Kroger said in the company’s investor conference call prepared remarks last week, “We are proud to welcome the incredible Vitacost.com team to the Kroger family. We are excited about the opportunity the merger creates to transform the customer experience and move Kroger directly into the e-Commerce space much faster than we could have done on our own. The merger closed last month and our teams are hard at work developing our combined business plan.“

While this is only an employee test right now, it will be interesting to see how successful it is when it opens to consumers.

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