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Big Y Foods kicks off myPicks online grocery service

Curbside pickup powered by automated micro-fulfillment center

Russell Redman

April 30, 2021

3 Min Read
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Big Y's 12,000-square-foot MFC, next to its supermarket in Chicopee, Mass., will be able to process 7,000 online orders a week once fully operational.Big Y Foods

Big Y Foods is ushering in a new e-commerce platform with the launch of Big Y myPicks online ordering.

Providing curbside pickup, the myPicks service is powered by a 12,000-square-foot automated micro-fulfillment center (MFC) next to the Big Y World Class Market store in Chicopee, Mass. Springfield, Mass.-based Big Y said it has been testing myPicks in recent weeks, and online orders for more than 7,000 customers a week will be able to be fulfilled once the MFC becomes fully operational.

Big Y customers access myPicks by clicking on “Shop Online” under the “Shop” menu on the grocer’s website and then selecting “Big Y myPicks.” Shoppers must set up a Big Y digital account to make purchases through the service. No additional fees are charged for orders of $40 or more, and in support of the service’s launch Big Y is offering customers $20 off their first order of $60 or more.

“We are constantly searching for ways to improve the shopping experience for our customers,” Big Y Foods Chief Operating Officer Michael D’Amour said in a statement. “They’ve taught us the importance of having our own e-commerce option this past year, as demand soared due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are excited to launch our new online shopping service for those customers interested in e-commerce. We look forward to expanding our digital capabilities in the future as we roll out to other locations throughout our marketing area.”

Related:Big Y Foods promotes pair of D’Amour family members

The Chicopee MFC houses 20,000 of the chain’s top-selling products, Big Y said. Categories include bread and bakery; dairy; deli; meat; produce; seafood; baby and child care; baking needs and cooking; nonrefrigerated beverages; breakfast; condiments and sauces; frozen; household; personal care; pet care; rice, grains, pasta and beans; snacks and candy; and soup and canned goods.

Plans call for customers to also be able to pick up myPicks online orders from lockers in Big Y’s Cooley Street Springfield, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow, South Hadley, Westfield, Westfield Shops, West Springfield and Wilbraham stores in Massachusetts by the end of this year. Groceries will be held in temperature-controlled totes inside the secure lockers until picked up.

Big Y myPicks comes from the retailer’s partnership with Waltham, Mass.-based automation specialist Takeoff Technologies to build the Chicopee MFC. Plans for the physical order-assembly area in Chicopee began in late 2019 and construction was completed last fall, Big Y said. For myPicks, trained Big Y e-commerce associates select fresh-food items to supplement the automated portion of each order.

Related:Big Y Foods to build Takeoff Technologies-powered automated warehouse

Other supermarket retailers with Takeoff-powered MFC include Albertsons Cos. (Safeway), Ahold Delhaize USA (Stop & Shop), Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite), Florida grocer Sedano’s Supermarkets more facilities with those grocery retailers are planned. This year, Takeoff and Loblaw Cos. (Real Canadian Superstore).

Big Y also provides online grocery delivery service via Instacart and DoorDash. Overall, the retailer operates 85 stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including 71 Big Y World Class Market supermarkets, one Fresh Acres Market, one Table & Vine Fine Wines & Liquors store, and 12 Big Y Express fuel and convenience locations.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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