Ace is now the place for store pickup

Ace Hardware is following the omnichannel retail fulfillment trend of free same-day store pickup for online orders.

The retailer had launched the service at some stores in 2014, but is now rolling it out nationwide.

The program “enables consumers in neighborhoods across the country to complete their home maintenance projects more quickly and easily than they were able to before,” Jeff Gooding, the retailer’s senior director of consumer marketing, said in a statement.

Here’s how Ace Hardware’s program works: Customers go to acehardware.com and click “Check Availability” on any product to determine which local stores have that item in stock. Once the item is identified, it can be ordered and picked up at the store the same day. Customers also can simply visit the store and buy it directly. Customers can also use Ace Hardware’s mobile website as well as Ace’s iPhone and Android apps to use the free pickup program.

Ace started testing the program last year in 1,600 of its 4,800 locations.

In February, Ace also began testing a same-day delivery program at 33 stores in six states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland and Texas. Delivery costs $5.

Free store pickup helps eliminate unnecessary shipping costs and shipment wait times by allowing consumers to identify items already in-stock at their neighborhood store.