Kroger Enhances It's Omnichannel Experience
By Megan Zielinski, contributing writer
On July 2, Kroger and Vitacost.com announced a merger settlement, by which Kroger will purchase all outstanding shares of Vitacost.com for roughly $280 million—bringing in advanced technology and an extensive selection of products to enrich Kroger’s ecommerce channel.
By joining together, with Vitacost.com serving as subsidiary of the Kroger Company, the leading online retailer of nutrition and wellness products is supplying Kroger with many options of natural products and foods to be paired alongside Kroger’s corporate brand, Simple Truth Organic and Simple Truth—building onto Kroger’s ongoing mission to become a carrier of mostly natural goods. Kroger customers will now have access to over 45,000 products provided by Vitacost.com, such as vitamins, minerals, herb, sports nutrition, supplements, beauty and skin care products, natural and organic foods, baby, and pet products—a wide assortment that over 2.3 million Vitacost.com customers enjoy.
The innovative technology, fulfillment platform, and experienced ecommerce team of Vitacost.com, combined with Kroger’s current digital capabilities, will greatly enhance Kroger’s omnichannel experience. “We will build on Vitacost.com's ecommerce platform by integrating it with our existing digital offerings to create exciting new levels of personalization and convenience for our customers,” stated Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chief executive officer. Through Vitacost.com, customers of Kroger’s will now have the convenience of ordering items online to be shipped to their doorstep. By including Vitacost.com’s ecommerce platform, Kroger will now be able to offer customers with the “ship to home” ordering option in all 50 states, including 16 states that do not have Kroger stores, also opening up opportunities for development in new US markets and internationally. This service will be included with the Harris Teeter Express Lane model, enabling customers to order online and pick up in-store at 154 Kroger locations. Customers can view engaging content including recipes, videos, product information and customer reviews, and the “Set and Save” subscription for numerous products—provided by Vitacost.com’s mobile app and website.
"We are excited to join such a tremendous organization and believe this will be an outstanding partnership," stated Jeffrey Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Vitacost.com. "This transaction represents a significant premium for our shareholders and the company will benefit by leveraging Kroger's scale and resources to further drive the online healthy living industry to new heights."