Yee, who formerly headed up the loyalty card program for American Stores' Lucky Stores division, said there are many similarities between the programs. Here it's about building traffic to the Web site and remaining loyal to the store brand. It's about getting them to come back again and again. ShopEaze lets its retail partners handle delivery and pickup options. Bristol Farms currently allows its Web shoppers to choose which store location they wish to pick up their items.
Delivery is also available at certain locations.
Haggen's plans will allow customers to pick up orders at the drive-up windows or customer service centers at its Haggen Food and Pharmacy and Top Food and Drug stores. ShopEaze does, however, offer software programs that facilitate store picking and packing, Yee said. Unlike Peachtree Network, a Montreal-based software company offering a similar service for grocery stores, ShopEaze's presence is virtually invisible to customers, save for a small banner ad on the store's home page. ShopEaze was founded in October of 1998 by Preston Heffernan, a former Silicon Valley-based sales executive. Bob Hermanns, ShopEaze chief executive officer, was previously chief operating officer for procurement and logistics at American Stores Co., Salt Lake City, now a division of Albertson's, Boise, Idaho.