Sendik's rolls out online grocery shopping service

For Sendik's customers in Wauwatosa, grocery shopping just got a little easier.

The store is rolling out a first-of-its kind program called Sendik's Express, an online shopping service that allows customers to make and pay for grocery selections via the Sendik's website and then pick them up at the store.

"With the increasing popularity of online grocery shopping, the Milwaukee-area seemed ripe for a local option," said Mark Birmingham, Sendik's executive director of new business development. "Sendik's Express offers the same high-quality products that are available in our stores, along with the trusted, personalized service our customers have come to expect."

The initiative makes Sendik's the first local grocer to enter the online ordering space, according to a news release.

The Wauwatosa location, 8616 W. North Ave., is one of seven stores that are part of the initial implementation of the program, including those in Franklin, Grafton, Mequon, New Berlin, Germantown and Whitefish Bay.

Sendik's Express allows customers to choose from a selection of more than 40,000 items, virtually everything that's available in stores.

The site features an organized listing of products, multiple images for each product, nutritional facts, a robust search engine and the ability to shop from the retailer's popular weekly specials. Several tools were developed to save shoppers time, including the ability to create and save shopping and favorites lists.

"With families more and more crunched for time, Sendik's Express helps make our customers' lives a bit easier," said Chris Houser, Sendik's director of e-commerce. "With the ability to shop anytime, from anywhere, they can get back to spending more time with family and friends."

After an order is placed and paid for online by credit or debit card, the Sendik's personal shoppers get to work filling it in the local store.

Because existing employees who are knowledgeable about Sendik's diverse offerings do the actual shopping, customers benefit from a high level of attention to detail and selection, rather than an automated process, Houser explained.

If a substitution needs to be made or question arises, the customer is called directly. The shopper can call or text when they arrive in the store parking lot for pickup, and the groceries are loaded in the car at a designated parking spot.

Now available online at www.sendiks.com, Sendik's Express pickup is available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

Pickup times can be selected at the time of order, and orders must be placed four hours in advance. A flat $5.95 order fee applies, and there is no minimum order purchase.