Spokane, WA (August 23, 2018) – URM, the top food distributor in the Inland Northwest serving independent grocers across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana has selected Rosie, a leader in eCommerce, delivery logistics, shopper marketing, and data analytics as the preferred provider of eCommerce systems for their members.
Premier URM retailers such as Super 1 Foods, Yoke’s, Bigfork Harvest Foods, and Rosauers have signed with Rosie to offer their customers convenient and easy-to-use online shopping. Shoppers can now order from the comfort of their home or on the go via desktop and mobile, with the option of picking up in-store or having groceries delivered directly to their doorstep.
“Working with Rosie has allowed us to serve our customers much more effectively,” says Rosauers CEO Jeff Philipps.
He continues, noting that “Rosie helped us train our order selectors to ensure best practices and superior attention to the needs of our customers. The control we have over the operation has allowed us to serve our customers with the same level of commitment they would receive in-store. Any issues or questions about the functionality of service itself are handled by Rosie’s very capable support staff that is available seven days a week.”
Rosauers, URM’s corporate banner, was one of the early adopters of at-home shopping and grocery delivery. The near century-old grocer began offering alternative shopping solutions in the late 1990’s through a phone order system, and upgraded to Rosie’s eCommerce platform in 2017 to offer online shopping, pickup, and delivery to their loyal customers.
Shoppers will find a link to the Rosie-hosted eCommerce page through the retailer’s own website, and from there can search for products, fill a virtual cart, and order for either home delivery or pickup at the store – often available same-day. These online shopping guests will find an online store with the same products, department names, promotions, and even signature in-store branding as those of the brick-and-mortar location.
While the grocery eCommerce field is flooded with vendors, Rosauers found that Rosie was the industry leader with dedicated people, innovative technology, and a service-oriented culture that made the business shine above the rest.
“We’re a grocery company,” says Philipps. “Software development and deployment isn’t our expertise. We made the switch to Rosie with a conversion that occurred in less than a month. Their team in Ithaca pulled out all the stops to make the conversion and operation of the platform as simple as possible. We were definitely impressed! Rosie Sales, Onboarding, Support, and Account Management have worked with us through the entire process, and teams still reach out proactively to help us operate the eCommerce program at our stores.”
URM CEO Ray Sprinkle agrees with Philipps. “Independent grocers are each uniquely different. On the Rosie platform, our retailers can utilize a proven, easy-to-use system with deep customization – allowing them to strengthen their online voice and digital autonomy in order to grow into a leadership position in eCommerce. Rosie enables our retailers to maintain their own identity and standards of quality. As some of the retailers under the URM umbrella have been around for several generations, we’re proud to be able to offer them Rosie to stay in the forefront of the digital shopping economy while retaining the brand they’ve worked lifetimes to create,” said Sprinkle.
“Online shopping is happening right now, particularly with young families, working professionals, and the mobility impaired,” said Randy McIntire, Vice President of Super 1 Foods. “We’re talking digital, immediate, at home or on the go. Our shoppers appreciate an online shopping program with the same personal service, freshest produce, low prices, and high value they expect when they are in our stores. After observing the evolution of the online shopping sector, we decided that now was the right time and we selected Rosie as the partner to help us provide a new range of digital services to respond better to our shoppers’ needs.”
ABOUT ROSIE
Rosie is the most trusted, locally focused eCommerce company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online from local stores. Rosie partners with leading independent retailers and their wholesalers to provide eCommerce, delivery opportunities, omni-channel marketing and deep data services. Rosie serves as the preferred eCommerce partner to a variety of wholesale cooperatives, such as Associated Food Stores (AFS), Associated Grocers of New England, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), Bozzuto’s, CERTCO, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and Olean Wholesale Grocers. Rosie powers the online shopping platforms of major local retailers like Niemann Foods Inc., Broulim’s, Macey’s, Clark’s Market, and Buehler’s Fresh Foods. IBM selected Rosie as the Top Startup in North America in its 2014 IBM Smartcamp Competition. Visit rosieapp.com for company information and to sign up for a free account. For Rosie news and downloadable media assets, visit here. To see firsthand what retailers and their customers think about Rosie, check out this video. Like us on facebook. Follow us on twitter.
ABOUT URM
URM Stores INC, is a member-owned cooperative operating out of Spokane, WA. Formed in 1921, URM has since grown to support nearly 3,000 employees, boast a sales volume over 1.1 billion dollars, and serve thousands of members and subsidiaries over four states. As of 2017 URM is the 9th largest privately-owned equal opportunity employer in the State of Washington, still growing as it approaches its centennial.
