The added service has been an exercise
in relationship building. "Customers are not guaranteed that they will have the same associate pulling their orders, but if a staff person sees an order for his regular custom- er, he will often select that order to fulfill. It's similar to always checking out with the same cashier in-store," Brous explains. In partnership with 7-Eleven, amazon.
com is also testing an innovative deliv- ery service in New York City, Seattle and London. Instead of sending a parcel to a home or business address, the online retailer is offering customers the option of picking up packages from a self-service locker system, located at or near 7-Elevens in the participating cities. The locker sys- tem resolves the stress and inconvenience of missing deliveries at home or having packages delayed in the office mailroom. Customers can select a location at checkout; once the parcel is delivered to the Amazon Locker location, the customer receives an email with a unique pick-up code, which can be entered at the locker.
2. Tapping in to the Growing Food Truck Frenzy These gourmet kitchens-on-wheels have swept the nation, and independent food stores are jumping on the bandwagon, in
S Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 4711 30 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com
hoppers visit publix. com/curbside, select their desired pickup
location, a 30-minute pickup window and then choose items to order. In the store, a sales associate prepares the order and then meets the shopper in the parking lot, collects payment and hands over the groceries.