NEW: Collect&Go will be taking groceries to the centre of Brussels by cargo bike

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Tailored to the city

Collect&Go City is an innovation project by Collect&Go tailored to the needs of ecologically conscious city people in search of time saving, nearness and inspiration. Customers pick up their groceries on foot or by bike on the way home. This concept fits into the daily routine of people who live and/or work in the city centre. “City people are a separate target audience with specific needs”, remarks Tom Deprater, responsible for Collect&Go. “They buy a small list of groceries several times a week, often ‘on the go’, they are more aware about sustainability, food waste and packaging, and today they lose quite a lot of time in small city shops.”

That is what Collect&Go City wants to provide an answer to. “We want to check if this new concept is successful and whether it will effectively meet the needs of urban customers. That is why we decided to test it for 9 weeks. Our aim is to gather as much customer insight as we can,” says Tom Deprater. The test location is also a well-considered choice: “With Flagey we have a location with a high density and a good socio-demographic mixture. It is also a genuine mobility hub: residents and commuters mainly travel on foot, by bike or public transport there. Another great asset is the Colruyt store in Etterbeek, which is just one kilometre away.” The trial runs from Thursday 10 December and will be extensively evaluated afterwards.    

Limited but smart offer

Customers can choose from a smart assortment of 500 fresh products and dishes. “This is a response to the different needs of our customers,” says Tom Deprater. “Customers will find about 15 recipe ideas each time. They can add all the ingredients for each of those to their shopping basket with just 1 click. Additionally, we are also offering lots of prepared meals and convenience.” Customers will not only recognise the ready-made meals from Colruyt Lowest Prices, but also the fresh meals from Rose Mary, Colruyt Group’s latest food concept. Finally, customers will also find everything they need to fill up their fridge via Collect&Go City. To guarantee the quality, the fresh products are transported and stored in refrigerated boxes until they are picked up.

How exactly does it work?

Customers place their order via the specially developed mobile first website citycollect.be. The ordering process is very user-friendly and only takes a few minutes. Three hours later, customers can pick up their order next to the Flagey building in Elsene, where a pop-up bike will be waiting every working day from 3.30 to 7.45 pm. The groceries will be gathered in the store by experienced store staff. A second cargo bike rides back and forth between the store and the square to supply the pop-up bike with new orders.

Customers are asked to bring their own backpack, shopping or carrier bags because of the ecological aspect. For Collect&Go City a service cost of 2.5 euros will be charged per order. “Although, the service cost will not be charged at the start of the test as a launch promo,” reveals Tom Deprater. Payments are made exclusively online via Bancontact (Payconic) or credit card. In this way, the customer saves time when he picks up his groceries.

Collect&Go City practical:

• Where? On Sint-Kruisplein, next to the Flagey building, in Elsene.
• When? Every working day from 3.30 to 7.45 pm.
• How? Groceries can already be picked up 3 hours after ordering (starting at 3.30 pm). Orders can be placed up to 5 pm for collection on the same day.
• Who? Experienced employees of the neighbouring Colruyt store in Etterbeek gather the groceries and are present on the square at the pick-up time.