Kroger has identified the first Memphis-area stores that will participate in the grocery chain’s online ordering system that lets shoppers buy some items online and arrange a time to pick them up.

(Daily News File/Andrew J. Breig)

Kroger is bringing its ClickList service – which lets customers shop online for more than 40,000 items, including meat and produce – to Shelby County, with an initial rollout to three stores in Bartlett, Cordova and Germantown. The stores are at 7735 Farmington Blvd.; 676 N. Germantown Parkway; and at 5995 Stage Road.

Southaven and Jonesboro shoppers also will have access to the same capability. Kroger locations at 3095 Goodman Road in Southaven and 1725 S. Caraway Road are also being set up for ClickList.

“ClickList is a great tool, and it will make shopping easier and more convenient for busy parents and Mid-South residents always on the go,” said Scot Hendricks, president of Kroger Delta Division.

It’s a major change to the otherwise traditional grocery experience at Kroger and also comes at a time when competitors are increasingly jockeying for shoppers’ dollars by launching similar offerings. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for example, is putting increased focused on the grocery section of its superstores and has likewise been testing curbside pickup.

Online retailer Amazon also has its own online grocery ordering service, AmazonFresh, further underscoring the competition and opportunities in the space.

Kroger, meanwhile, is expecting its service locally to be up and running by the fall. By then, the chain says it will also have identified more Memphis-area stores getting access to the ClickList system.

Using the new system, the order process includes the customer specifying a date and time they’d like to pick up their purchases. Another feature of the process – customers will likely be able to save favorite or repeat items to make the process of ordering the same items even faster.

The service’s availability in Memphis is also necessitating a few changes – some obvious, some behind the scenes.

Kroger expects to start construction this month on the necessary additions at the first stores to accommodate some needs related to the program, such as new freezers to store cold items until customers pick those orders up. Kroger also plans to set aside dedicated parking spaces at the respective locations.

Those spaces won’t be at the front of the stores, which frequently get crowded. Kroger Delta Division spokeswoman Teresa Dickerson said the spaces for ClickList customers will be away from there, to the side.

Shoppers will head to those spots at their appointed pickup times, and a Kroger employee will bring their purchases out to them. Kroger also anticipates making some new hires in the Memphis area in conjunction with the new service’s rollout.

Kroger has already brought the online system to stores in other Tennessee markets, like Murfreesboro and Nashville – as in Shelby County, rolling it out to only a few stores there initially.