Dive Brief:
- Kroger has teamed up with Bed Bath & Beyond on a multi-category omnichannel collaboration, the grocer announced on Tuesday.
- Starting early next year, the grocer will offer a selection of the "most sought-after" products from the home merchandise retailer and its Buybuy Baby chain on Kroger.com and also launch small-scale store pilots at select Kroger locations.
- The partnership builds on Kroger's evolving omnichannel strategy and is its latest move beyond grocery to give customers a one-stop shopping experience.
Dive Insight:
Kroger is looking for ways to build out its assortment online as more shoppers turn to the channel for groceries, home goods and more.
Last year, it launched its online marketplace focusing on specialty and international products. Combining food with baby furniture offers a way to further connect with shoppers at milestone moments.
The Bed Bath & Beyond partnership is the latest retailer tie-up for Kroger, which has also linked up with Walgreens on a store-within-a-store concept at some of the pharmacy chain's locations. In 2018, the grocer collaborated with Alibaba to sell its Simple Truth brand in China.
One-stop shopping, both online and in-store, is gaining traction in the grocery industry. Hy-Vee, for example, has tested several in-store additions in recent months, including fitness equipment showrooms, hybrid eyewear kiosks and nail salons. Instacart has expanded its partnerships with not only grocers, but also with beauty, pet, office supplies and home goods retailers.
With their national brand recognition, Bed Bath & Beyond and Kroger both stand to benefit from heightened exposure to consumers. Mark Tritton, Bed Bath & Beyond's president and CEO, said the Kroger tie-up underscores his company's authority in the home and baby categories and also provides opportunities to strengthen and grow its customer base.
Kroger said the selection of items from Bed Bath & Beyond will include popular products like bedding, storage and baby furniture, providing a mix of private label and national brands.
The Cincinnati-based grocer did not say how many stores or which locations will have the branded shop-in-shop experience. Meanwhile, the online collaboration will be enabled by the grocer's Ship marketplace.
The announcement comes just a day after Bed Bath & Beyond, Buybuy Baby and Uber said they are collaborating to launch a new baby and kids vertical in the Uber Eats app.
