Kroger launches curbside pickup service at Houston-area grocery stores

Jun 2, 2016, 2:22pm CDT

Kroger launched a new curbside pickup service at several Houston-area stores, joining a bevy of other retailers that have jumped into the convenience game.

Called ClickList, the service is available at the following stores:

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Kroger launched a new curbside pickup service at several Houston-area stores.

DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG

• Baytown, 6315 Garth Road
• Cypress, 9703 Barker Cypress Road
• Galveston, 5730 Seawall Boulevard
• Tomball, 24350 Kuykendahl Road

Kroger plans to roll out the service to 22 stores by fall 2016. Other locations to be targeted include Beaumont, Cypress, the Energy Corridor, Oak Forest, northeast Houston, Katy, Kingwood, League City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Spring, Sugar Land, West University and Willis.

To use ClickList, customers need to create a free online account and select a participating store. From there, customers can select their items on the website and pick up their groceries at a selected pick-up time. The store charges a $4.95 service fee, but the fee will be waived as an introductory offer.

Cincinnati-based Kroger joins other area stores that launched their own curbside service. San Antonio-based H-E-B launched its curbside pickup service in Houston in December, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) launched its service in October.

Aside from pickup service, other on-demand services have launched to satiate Houstonians' thirst for convenience. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) recently launched a delivery service, called Google Express, in Houston that will deliver items from a number of retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Costco, PetSmart. Amazon Prime launched its one-hour delivery service in Houston in October.

Other startups, like Austin-based Smackdab Inc., have targeted more niche markets, while San Francisco's Instacart has teamed up with Houston liquor store Spec's for an alcohol delivery service