KEALAKEKUA — ChoiceMART is playing the long game.
The South Kona grocery store is attempting to carve out a unique space in the Hawaii Island market as the first establishment to offer a grocery delivery and personal shopping service. ChoiceMART launched the service last Thursday.
Predicting market evolution and consumer behavior is an uncertain endeavor, but also often one that separates companies that thrive from those that stagnate and fold.
Rhonda Kavanagh, CEO of Kealakekua Ranch and ChoiceMART, said in its incorporation of a remote, digital shopping and delivery service, the store is betting on one prevailing consumer trend to continue.
“I’ve been watching technology change the way people shop for just about everything for years,” Kavanagh said. “We buy things like clothing, household products and furniture from big box stores online and from internet giants like Amazon. People love shopping when and where it fits their schedule. Why not give people the chance to shop for fresh groceries online, too?”
While the practical application of the idea is new to Hawaii Island, the notion of consumers buying groceries online with direct delivery service already exists in several areas across the country.
After Amazon recently purchased Whole Foods for an 11-figure price tag roughly one month ago, a widespread shift in how consumers buy groceries became considerably more likely.
ChoiceMART has several competitors throughout Kona, including century-long mainstay KTA and retail giants like Costco, Walmart and Safeway. But beyond foot traffic, ChoiceMART is moving to keep pace with the online grocery shopping model, as it views the digital marketplace as the playing field of the future.
Both ChoiceMART’s website and its accompanying mobile app serve as the conduits to 24-hour online shopping. The app features bar code recognition to fill out grocery lists automatically and the delivery zone includes essentially all of North and South Kona.
While the digital mode of remote grocery shopping is distinctively 21st century, Kavanagh said the company is targeting more than just the youth market with its new service.
Nona Marigold was shopping in the produce section Monday and said while she hasn’t tried out the service yet, it may not be long before the convenience beckons her.
“I parked in the handicapped spot today,” she laughed. “So maybe pretty soon.”
Kavanagh said health service providers, property managers arranging client services and those who simply value the option of multi-tasking errands from anywhere are groups that have also expressed interest in the service.