Asda upped the pace of its multichannel expansion with new online order kiosks and collection lockers in store as part of a trial.
Asda has introduced transactional kiosks to allow shoppers to browse a wider range of non-food products via its website in 20 stores and log into their Asda account.
The grocer had previously trialled similar non-food kiosks that allowed shoppers to use the Argos model of ordering and collection in a store but had issues with fulfilment, retail director Mark Ibbotson told Retail Week.
The kiosks are in addition to the grocer’s dedicated JML kiosks, which allow shoppers to browse the shopping channel’s range.
The move echoes that of rival Tesco, which enables customers to peruse larger items and full ranges on kiosks in store. Marks & Spencer has also championed kiosks at its flagship Cheshire Oaks store, while Thorntons last week unveiled a trial of three kiosks to order hampers.
Asda, which has earmarked £700m to invest in digital developments and new stores this year, is also allowing shoppers who are given a unique code to pick up online non-food orders in 20 of its shops.
It is the latest move in Asda’s tactic to add new collection methods for online orders as it scouts business parks, universities, train stations and park-and-ride schemes for collection locations.
Ibbotson said: “There’s a lot of technology we are looking at. We are trilaling 20 order points, they will allow people to browse the website.”
He added that the grocer’s free wi-fi offered in store allowed shoppers to browse online via the kiosks or their own mobile device.
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