Carrefour has unveiled a new 'personal shopper' home delivery service, OK Market!, which the retailer says is the 'first of its kind' in France.
The service was launched this week in Paris and Lyon, initially on a trial basis from a few Carrefour outlets, to determine its feasibility ahead of a wider rollout.
Using the service, Carrefour offers a range of 20,000 SKUs, including cut-to-order fresh products such as meat and cheese, as well as same-day delivery.
Personal Shopping Service
A 'personal shopper' will take a customer's preferences into account when selecting items – a creamy brie cheese, for example, or an avocado that's not too ripe – with the customer able to approve or substitute products should they wish to do so.
Customers can liaise with the personal shopper through a chat function in the OK Market! app, and can also call or contact the shopper during the order experience.
The service is based on Carrefour's Bringo platform, which has proved successful in Romania, and is currently used by more than 2,500 stores across 38 cities, a well as florists, wine merchants and toy stores.
The Bringo service was also launched in Carrefour Argentina this summer, while Belgium also offers a similar platform via its 'Ship-To' service.
'Stand Out From The Competition'
“I'm delighted with the launch of OK Market! in France, which shows just how agile we are when it comes to launching and testing additional services which help us to stand out from the competition," commented Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour Group's executive director of e-commerce, data and digital transformation.
"This new service combines the very best of digital and bricks-and-mortar retail, providing our customers with a unique experience for their weekly shopping. After Romania, Belgium and Argentina, France – our main country – was the logical next step for offering this service to our customers."
Stores initially offering the service include Carrefour Paris Auteuil, Carrefour Paris Sèvres Market, Carrefour Paris Saint Marcel Market and the Carrefour Lyon Part Dieu hypermarket.
Carrefour reported an 11.2% increase in operating profit in the first six months of the year, it said in July.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
