Instead of spending more or less an hour going through aisles in the supermarket, more Kiwis are now doing their grocery shopping online. And because of that, Countdown is looking to expand its online grocery into something more like a virtual mall.

The leading supermarket chain has been offering online shopping and its “click and collect” service for a long time now. But in approximately two decades, the services’ contribution to overall sales is only roughly the equivalent of the revenues of four reasonably sized Countdown stores. That is looking to change, though. According to Tony Petrie, Countdown’s national online manager, the projected growth of their online services would now be worth the business of about five stores. The brand’s “click and collect” service in particular has been growing by 15% annually. And it’s pretty easy to see why the service is surging in popularity. For the cost of an extra $5 on top of the bill, customers can save time by letting the store do the actual shopping for them—all they have to do is to pick up their orders at a time that’s convenient to them.

And as said above, Countdown is branching out. The chain is partnering with other businesses such as clothing retailer EziBuy, enabling it to become something more like a mall rather than be just being a supermarket. The goal is to make shoppers feel that they’re shopping exclusively at Countdown, even though the chain will have a host of suppliers. “The business is growing. We are doing a hell lot of work in the background so we can sell anything to anybody,” said Pietre.

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