Canadian Tire brings “Self-Serve Pick-Up Towers” to North Vancouver, just in time for Christmas

With more Canadians taking to the Internet for their shopping fix, big-box stores are investigating new ways to increase convenience for customers who order online and pick up in-store.

Retail giant Canadian Tire is at the head of the pack. Placing an enormous, 16-foot self-serve kiosk into outlets where web orders can be stored until they are collected, the company lets individuals collect their pre-paid products in under a minute. The towers can hold 250 to 300 packages.

After placing an order online, purchasing it, and choosing which location to collect the item, a customer gets an email notification when the product is filled and ready. When the person arrives at the store, they present an order code to the machine, which is then scanned. The tower then automatically dispenses the correct item from its holding shelf.

As one of the busiest of the 1,700 Canadian Tire stores in the country, North Vancouver’s Main Street location has been chosen as one of the first places in the country roll out the new tower. Canadian Tire hopes that the new tech will lower customer wait-times and free up staff to help in-store shoppers—particularly with Christmas on the horizon.

“We're a test and learn culture, and a big part of that is finding new ways to help our customers shop when they want and how they want,” said Greg Hicks, president of Canadian Tire Retail. “We're very excited to be the first retailer in Canada to introduce the Self-Serve Pick-Up Towers to some of our busiest stores as one more example of how we’re meeting our customers’ evolving needs.”

Also in place in select stores in Calgary, Toronto, and Saskatoon, the towers will likely soon spread across the country if the pilot projects prove to be a success.

In addition to in-store pickup, Canadian Tire also offers a home delivery option, though orders can sometimes take longer to be filled and shipped.

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