UK | Morrisons has brought StrongPoint's Click & Collect locker technology to a UK supermarket for the first time, piloting a new end-to-end collection model designed to maximise speed and customer convenience.
The grocery locker technology has been deployed across Europe for more than a decade, bringing a proven, best-in-class approach to grocery collection and a host of benefits for Morrisons customers.
Morrisons is piloting the new grocery lockers at its Skipton, North Yorkshire, store, a high-volume Click & Collect site with a full online offer. The store will now fulfil all Click & Collect orders through the locker system, which also supports same-day Click & Collect orders.
To support a seamless collection experience, Morrisons has also integrated VoCoVo communication technology into the locker hardware. When a customer presses the 'Help' button at the locker terminal, it triggers an instant two-way connection directly to store colleagues wearing VoCoVo headsets, ensuring real-time support whenever it is needed.
One key customer benefit will be increased collection availability. At Skipton, Click & Collect operating hours will increase by two hours per day, giving customers greater flexibility around when they can collect their shopping.
The new system will also remove the need for customers to park in a collection bay, notify colleagues of their arrival and wait for their order to be brought to their car. To support a seamless collection experience, the lockers allow orders to be pre-loaded before the customer arrives; they then enter a unique six-digit collection code on arrival to collect their items.
Large lockers can hold up to three bags of shopping, while smaller chilled or frozen compartments can hold one to two bags, depending on capacity. This means customers can use the lockers for everything from a daily top-up to a full weekly shop.
Additionally, orders will now be pre-packed into paper bags, replacing the current process where customers receive loose shopping and pack their own order.
For larger cross-category orders, the StrongPoint system will allocate multiple locker doors to a single customer. The temperature-controlled units maintain chilled products at 3-5°C and frozen products at -18°C to -20°C, while ambient grocery units are maintained at 16°C to ensure freshness.
For orders containing age-restricted products, the system flags the requirement to store colleagues via their VoCoVo headsets. The specific locker compartment remains locked until a colleague verifies customer ID in line with Challenge 25 regulations.
The move marked another step in Morrisons investment in its online customer proposition whilst retaining the freshness and quality it is known for.
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