Harger: We’re in the way now as the personal shopping boom reshapes grocery stores

We use ClickList at Fred Meyer every week now for the main grocery run. It’s convenient, saves time, and honestly saves money because I’m not throwing Cheesy Poofs in the cart just because they’re on sale. The workers there make a decent wage, and it’s real work. No complaints.

But it feels like something’s shifted in the past month or so. Everybody has gotten on the “we’ll-shop-for-you” train.

Yesterday, I was at a competing grocery store. My relationship with Fred Meyer’s produce aisle is complicated, so sometimes I see other stores. The condiment aisle was completely blocked by a personal shopper with one of those oversized carts. She looked stressed. Really stressed. There were regular shoppers stuck on both sides, unable to move forward, but unwilling to walk one aisle over to go around. We all just waited. I needed tartar sauce. I could be patient.

But the look in that shopper’s eyes. You could tell this was not her idea of a good time. She kept apologizing, moving as fast as she could, checking her phone, scanning items. You could feel the pressure she was under.

That reminded me of the Saturday before Thanksgiving when I went to the big box store with the blue vests. Their personal shopping service is clearly popular. The ratio of regular customers to personal shoppers felt about even. Maybe the shoppers even outnumbered us. These workers are moving fast, racing around corners, blocking aisles with those massive carts. They’re clearly on tight deadlines. Metrics to hit. Apps tracking their every move.

Customers now feel like they are in the way

And you, the actual customer who drove to the store yourself, you feel like you’re in the way.

I guess this is progress. The convenience is real. For people with mobility issues, this is a lifeline. Parents with small kids get hours back. Someone working two jobs doesn’t have to choose between sleep and groceries. These are genuine benefits.

But we’re trading something too. You lose the skill of picking your own produce. Knowing what a ripe avocado feels like. Spotting the good cuts of meat. Reading labels yourself instead of trusting someone racing against a timer.

And there’s the class element. Walmart+ costs $50 to $100 a year. That might not sound like much, but for plenty of families, that’s a luxury they can’t swing. So they’re in the store, trying to shop, dodging the people who could afford to stay home.

The stressed shopper in the condiment aisle finally cleared out. I grabbed my tartar sauce. She was already halfway down the next aisle, phone in hand, racing to the next item.

There’s no going back from this. The convenience is too appealing, the need too real for too many people. But maybe we should be intentional about what we’re building. A system where some people shop from their couch while others sprint through stores on behalf of strangers, and the rest of us just try not to get in the way.

That’s progress. It just looks different from what I expected.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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