Woolworths has opened its first eStore in Queensland to deliver more online orders to its customers than ever before.
The 1,250 m² space at the rear of the retailer's Maroochydore (Big Top) supermarket uses state-of-the-art micro-fulfillment technology to sort products and move them from automated storage units directly to team members who handpick customer orders.
The storage units should be able to hold up to 10,000 of the “most popular” foods. Fresh fruit and vegetables as well as meat will continue to be picked from the warehouse.
Woolworths Operations Manager for the Sunshine Coast Peta Hartley says the continued growth in online food demand has given the retailer the opportunity to reshape the future of their stores.
"As customer expectations continue to rise, we are investing in state-of-the-art technology on the Sunshine Coast to create an even better and more convenient online offering for local customers," she says.
“This technology will help our team of 150 personal shoppers pick orders faster and more accurately while staying close to our Sunshine Coast customers for faster and more flexible home deliveries. The new delivery capacity comes at a critical time as more and more of our customers are delivering to their homes due to the pandemic.
"It is important that the eStore layout also helps to reduce the traffic jams in the aisles for our customers in the branches, since our personal shoppers select most of the items in the back of the house."
Woolworths has appointed around 150 team members to fulfill orders from the eStore, including 80 new ones in store.
