Supermarkets Expand Services

Some stores are adding movie rentals, pharmacies, dry cleaning services and coin-counting kiosks to become one-stop shops.

July 13, 2011

DOVER, N.H. - Grocery stores are upping their services to compete for shoppers, the Times Herald-Record reports. More supermarkets now offer on-site pharmacies, DVD rental kiosks, on-premises dry cleaning and coin-counting kiosks.

Some stores even have online grocery shopping and home delivery. For example, Stop & Shop customers can order online and have their groceries delivered via Peapod, while ShopRite has ShopRite from Home.

"(The services) help to differentiate us and they also help to give our customers what they want and need," said Elisabeth Loeb, spokeswoman for ShopRite. "If you can get all your shopping and errands done in one place, then we're happy to provide that."

ShopRite boasts in-store DVD rentals and has on-premises dietitians who will shop with you for free. Other ShopRite locations have dry cleaning services, banks and Dexter Deli, which allows shoppers to pre-order deli meats and cheeses to be sliced while shopping.

Hannaford is testing Hannaford to Go, where customers order online and pick up their groceries at the store parking lot. "We're looking at that to see how successful it is and see if we want to expand it," said Hannaford spokesman Eric Blom.

Hannaford locations often have pharmacies and Redbox DVD kiosks. Also, Hannaford offers several online tasks, such as prescription management, gift card purchase and reload, and printable and downloadable shopping lists. "I think that we are a grocery store company, so that's our core," said Blom. "Any ancillary convenience services that we offer would be those that we feel would benefit the customer, but we're certainly not going to try to be all things. That's not our business."

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