Kroger Ship to Integrate a Marketplace this Fall

Rhea-AI Summary

Kroger (NYSE: KR) has announced an expansion of its Kroger Ship platform to include a ship-to-home marketplace featuring third-party sellers, facilitated by Mirakl. This initiative is part of Kroger's strategy to enhance its e-commerce services, responding to increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50,000 additional items will be available across various categories, improving product accessibility for customers. This market integration aims to leverage customer insights and broaden product offerings, further establishing Kroger's digital marketplace ahead of its fall launch.

Positive

• Expansion of Kroger Ship to include third-party marketplace enhances product offerings.
• Introduction of over 50,000 additional items broadens customer access to diverse categories.
• Digital sales grew 92% in Q1 2020, reflecting strong e-commerce demand.

Negative

• None.

CINCINNATI and BOSTON, Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, today announced Kroger Ship will expand to offer an extended ship-to-home assortment through a marketplace offering of third-party sellers powered by Mirakl, the leading software platform enabling B2C and B2B digital marketplaces.

"Our customers are increasingly turning to our e-commerce solutions provided at Kroger.com for their grocery and household essential needs. To better serve our customers, we're continuing to invest in technology that enables us to expand our digital services to deliver anything, anytime, anywhere," said Jody Kalmbach, Kroger's group vice president of product experience. "Leveraging Mirakl's best-in-class marketplace solution, we are broadening Kroger's ship-to-home capabilities by offering more relevant products for our customers through exciting new partnerships with reputable third-party sellers."

Kroger Ship, which launched in August 2018, will offer customers an extended aisle of products made available through marketplace partners. Initially, more than 50,000 additional items will be available to customers across multiple categories, including natural and organic, international food, specialty items, housewares and toys.

"Kroger has long been a retail giant, and by integrating an online marketplace into its leading eCommerce experience, Kroger is continuing to lead from the front," said Adrien Nussenbaum, CEO and Co-founder of Mirakl. "It's clearer than ever that digital marketplaces are the foundation of the next generation of commerce, and we look forward to supporting Kroger as it takes advantage of this opportunity."

Kroger's marketplace products are expected to launch this fall. Eligible Kroger.com orders earn loyalty rewards like fuel points.  

"The expansion of our Kroger Ship platform will continue to bring together our industry-leading customer insights and merchandising data to offer our customers a digital shopping experience that includes staples available in our physical stores as well as products that are exclusive to Kroger.com," said Stuart Aitken, Kroger's senior vice president and chief merchant and marketing officer. "As part of our continuing transformation, we look forward to accelerating the development of our e-commerce platform and providing our customers with even more choices."

Kroger's strategic investments in e-commerce technology and channels over the past two and half years under Restock Kroger have positioned the company to more effectively respond to the sustained, increased demand of delivery, pickup and ship-to-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Kroger's first quarter 2020 results, its digital sales grew 92 percent.

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About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

About Mirakl
Mirakl is the only marketplace SaaS platform that empowers both B2B and B2C organizations to launch and grow an enterprise marketplace at scale. With the Mirakl Marketplace Platform, both B2B and B2C businesses can offer more, learn more and sell more: increase the number of products available for buyers, grow the lifetime value of customers, and anticipate buyer needs and preferences. Committed to ease of use, The Mirakl Marketplace Platform is a turn-key solution that's easy to integrate into any eCommerce platform and Mirakl Catalog Manager makes managing product data quality simple at marketplace scale.

Mirakl's unmatched marketplace expertise is key to customers' success. Mirakl employs a team of 60+ marketplace operators who help clients adopt best practices and client success provides critical long-term strategic guidance. Over 250 customers in 40 countries trust Mirakl's proven technology and expertise including Urban Outfitters, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Best Buy Canada, Carrefour, Siemens, and Toyota Material Handling USA, Inc. For more information: www.mirakl.com.

 

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

FAQ

What is the new feature being added to Kroger Ship?

Kroger Ship is expanding to include a ship-to-home marketplace with third-party sellers.

How many new items will be available through Kroger's marketplace?

The marketplace will offer over 50,000 additional items across various categories.

When will Kroger's marketplace products launch?

Kroger's marketplace products are expected to launch this fall.

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on Kroger's digital sales?

Kroger reported a 92% increase in digital sales during the first quarter of 2020.