GROCERIES ONLINE RALPHS TURNS TO NET.Byline: Pam Park Staff Writer Ralphs Grocery Co. and Priceline.com have combined to offer grocery savings of as much as 50 percent in the first online shopping opportunity off its kind in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). , the companies announced Thursday. The Priceline.com WebHouse Club allows consumers to shop for grocery bargains online at Priceline.com, lock in their savings by paying with a credit card when they order and pick up the groceries gro·cer·y n. pl. gro·cer·ies 1. A store selling foodstuffs and various household supplies. 2. groceries Commodities sold by a grocer. at Ralphs anytime within three months. If there's a sale that makes the in-store price lower, the customer gets the lowest price and the difference is credited to the WebHouse Club account. For Ralphs it's a cost-free method of attracting new customers in a very competitive environment that hasn't been kind to all grocers. ``It costs us nothing and we believe it will attract customers who don't usually shop at Ralphs,'' Ralphs spokesman Terry O'Neil said Thursday at an in-store demonstration on Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. in Studio City. The Web program works like grocery coupons - manufacturers pay the store full price for the items discounted on the Web site. Manufacturers benefit from the opportunity to increase their sales without lowering their overall retail price - to get products to people who are brand flexible, and possibly to increase their market share. Customers - especially those who are not stuck on one particular brand of chocolate chip Chocolate chips are small chunks of chocolate. They are often sold in a round, flat-bottomed teardrop shape (similar to a Hershey's Kiss). They are available in numerous sizes, from large to miniature, but are usually around 1 cm in diameter. cookie cookie File or part of a file put on a Web user's hard disk by a Web site. Cookies are used to store registration data, to make it possible to customize information for visitors to a Web site, to target Web advertising, and to keep track of the products a user wishes to , for instance - can save as much as 50 percent on a variety of grocery items. ``Naming the price of your own groceries delivers real savings and that's something everybody's looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ,'' O'Neil said. About 1,000 cards have been passed out in the past couple of days at the Ralphs in Studio City. O'Neil expects similar response in all of Ralphs' California stores, including its Food 4 Less division. Cards can also be requested online and mailed to the consumer. ``It's the new wave of grocery shopping,'' O'Neil said. A sample grocery basket that included bread, diapers, paper towels, chicken breasts, coffee, yogurt yogurt: see fermented milk. yogurt Semisolid, fermented, often flavoured milk food. Yogurt is known and consumed in almost all parts of the world. , steak and potato chips cost $33.47 when purchased online Wednesday evening. When the order was picked up at the store Thursday, the retail price for those items was $52.94 - a savings of $19.47. About 1.5 million people already use the Priceline.com Club for Groceries in major cities on the East Coast, the Midwest and Texas. The partnership with Ralphs is its first venture in California. Priceline expects 4 percent to 5 percent of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. households to be using its service by early 2001, said Robert Padgett, director of corporate communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. . Priceline.com was launched in spring 1998. The WebHouse Club was launched almost a year ago and is a privately held licensee licensee n. a person given a license by government or under private agreement. (See: license, licensor) LICENSEE. One to whom a license has been given. 1 M. Q. & S. 699 n. , but Priceline holds warrants to buy it if certain financial targets are reached, Padgett said. The WebHouse Club for Groceries is a different business model than that of online grocers who deliver products to the customer's home or office. Delivery models trade on customer convenience more than price. The WebHouse Club offers cost savings, but you have to go to the store to get them. It is unclear which companies and business models will survive. Although online grocery shopping is expected to grow from a $1.1 billion business this year to nearly $17 billion in 2004, the industry segment is starting to see some players backing off in some markets or being bought out. For example, Peapod - a Skokie, Ill.-based online grocer that expanded so rapidly it nearly went bankrupt BANKRUPT. A person who has done, or suffered some act to be done, which is by law declared an act of bankruptcy; in such case he may be declared a bankrupt. 2. It is proper to notice that there is much difference between a bankrupt and an insolvent. and has lost millions each year since it went public in 1997 - announced Thursday that it is backing out of four major markets in Ohio and Texas and buying Streamline.com's Washington, D.C., and Baltimore operations for $12 million. Peapod acquires a foothold foot·hold n. 1. A place providing support for the foot in climbing or standing. 2. A firm or secure position that provides a base for further advancement. foothold Noun 1. in the Washington area and greater concentration in its Chicago home base, and New York-based Streamline gets cash it needs to stay afloat. And Webvan Group of Foster City, Calif., recently announced it would acquire its main competitor, HomeGrocer.com of Kirkland, Wash., in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. The deal is expected to increase Webvan's revenues by 50 percent, while requiring 50 percent less cash. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Ralphs and Priceline.com have launched the Priceline.com WebHouse Club for Groceries, an online service in which customers save as much as half off on typical store prices. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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