Eye on Retail: BBB collaborates with Kroger
Kroger is making select Bed Bath & Beyond products available on its website, with plans for an in-store pilot.
The grocery giant and leading home goods retailer are rolling out a multi-category e-commerce collaboration that was first announce November 2021. Enabled by the Kroger Ship Marketplace extended-aisle digital marketplace (with ship-to-home capability), the new venture has added several thousand items from Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy Baby to Kroger’s online assortment.
The curated digital experience is divided into shoppable categories that include both Bed Bath & Beyond’s owned brands, as well as national brands. A sample of private label and national brand products available via the partnership is available here.
Kroger and Bed Bath & Beyond are also planning to pilot a branded shop-in-shop experience featuring curated products from Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy Baby.
Bed Bath & Beyond is expanding its sales reach as it comes off a disappointing third quarter and is making deals with activist investors. Meanwhile, Kroger has been pursuing a strategy of increasing its e-commerce presence, mainly through the growth of a national “hub and spoke” network of next-generation fulfillment centers.
"When our customers think of food, they think of Kroger," said Stuart Aitken, Kroger senior VP and chief merchant & marketing officer. "And we're more than just food. This collaboration expands our e-commerce selection, enabling our customers to send a new homeowner a beautiful cheese board and the cheese that goes with it. Or they can send new parents a stroller alongside diapers and a Home Chef meal – all in one digital transaction, saving our customers time and providing a positive shopping and gifting experience."
Bed Bath & Beyond COO John Hartmann, the former CEO of True Value Corp., said the move expands BBB’s customer base. “We are excited to provide Kroger shoppers with a compelling one-stop shopping experience,” he said in a prepared statement. “We're also well underway with the planning and design of our Kroger in-store pilot program and look forward to its launch later this year.”
Based in Cincinnati, Kroger operates 2,800 stores.