Source: Mireya Acierto / Getty
The next time you hit up your local DSW to buy some new kicks, make sure you bring your grocery list too.
DSW, or Designer Shoe Warehouse, has connected with midwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee, so you have to make one less stop when running Saturday errands. DSW has over 500 stores countrywide and will be opening 1,200 square foot mini-shops inside the grocery stores in an effort to reach customers where they shop most. And with a trip to the grocery store being a weekly duty, there’s no better place– especially amid the coronavirus pandemic where the food store is the only place to venture out to.
The first two test shops opened in Minneapolis this month, with four more expected to open in the city by the end of September. DSW isn’t the first retailer to try to attract new costumers this way– Kohl’s put Aldi grocery store inside one of its department stores just last year. DSW is doing it to make shopping more seamless than ever before.
“We were already thinking at the time about how to make the shoe shopping experience easier for customers. In many cases, grocery stores are the number one shopping destination that people go to again and again,” said Bill Jordan, chief growth officer at Designer Brands. “This has become more so through the pandemic.”
The DSW shop will be placed in the front of the Hy-Vee stores, with several thousand pairs available. But if you’re not feeling the shoes on display, there’s also a digital wall that lets you check out other styles that you can order by just scanning a QR code. After ordering the shoes, you can choose to pick them up at a Hy-Vee or DSW. Jordan is also figuring out a way to install pickup lockers, which would help with social distancing.
There’s no word on if the program will expand to other cities.
