Sears Holdings Corp. is letting consumers order groceries, pharmaceutical prescriptions and other products using their smartphones and pick them up at the nearest Kmart or get them delivered.

Sears launched its mygofer service to respond to the evolution of the traditional grocery store concept from bricks-and-mortar stores to shopping for food and prescriptions online and directly via consumers’ phone. The mygofer2go application is available for Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, and the service is also accessible via the mobile Web.

“The whole reason why we did mygofer is that we have a strong commitment to our customers to offer them the ultimate choice and convenience, and that is what this service is all about,” said Imran Jooma, senior vice president for online at Sears Holdings, Hoffman Estates, IL. “Consumers have busy lives, they are always on the go and have very little time, so we want to make sure they optimized any spare time they have for grocery shopping.

“We offer more than just grocery items—we offer household goods, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, everything Kmart would have and more,” he said. “We’re letting customers shop with us online or using their mobile devices.

“Mygofer customers can pick up their order at the Kmart closest to them, and we deliver in many markets, which makes it very convenient.”

Sears looks to the future of shopping
Buying books, electronics and clothes online and through mobile applications is relatively common, but buying groceries and prescription medicines via mobile has been seen rarely.

Sears’ mygofer service lets customers to shop online or via mygofer2go applications and pick up their items on the same day at their local Kmart stores, or have them delivered to their home or office in select locations.

In addition Mygofer.com and the applications, customers can shop directly on Facebook, which features deals of the day.

Customers have a limited timeto take advantage of certain deals before time runs out.

Mygofer customers can shop using the mylists feature, which lets them schedule reminder alerts, arrange for automatically recurring orders and find a replacement for out-of-stock items, as well as view and shop multiple lists at the same time.

“We’ve given customers the ability to make a list online and access it using their mobile devices,” Mr. Jooma said. “If you have used the service before, you can make it into an auto-replenishable list if you tend to buy the same things regularly.

“You can scan items using an iPhone and it will give you the option to put it on your list for the next trip,” he said.

Sears is promoting the service via Facebook.com/mygofer and other social networks, TV ads in select markets, bus shelter and subway posters, an email campaign and word of mouth.

Consumers can pay for their order within the application via credit or debit card.

The mygofer service lets customers get home delivery in certain geographies, and in most cases it also consolidates orders from Kmart and various local merchants that Sears partners with.

“Here are some items I want from Kmart, and here are some items I want from local sellers, and we make them all available to you for pickup at a Kmart store at your convenience,” Mr. Jooma said. “From a value standpoint, the consolidation of orders we do is actually free of charge for customers.

“There is a charge for home delivery, which varies by geography—we’re testing price points and getting consumer feedback,” he said. “We’re partnering with local sellers that can provide exceptionally great quality at exceptional prices.

“This is in addition to what we have available at Kmart already.”

Final Take
Mygofer – The Startup