On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Howard ↗
In their words
there's this concept of substitution so you know you may be buying your Honey Crisp apple but the Pickers are going through the store just like everyone else so at the end of the day you might not have that Apple that you chose
we've launched to 700 stores by the end of this week so we have 700 pickup locations between go stations as you know actual stores itself
the basket size to me is like it's surprisingly a lot bigger like it's about three times bigger than like the in-store shop
Quick answers
What did Howard Chan do at Loblaw Digital?
He was Head of Shopping Experience for grocery e-commerce, the part of Loblaw Digital responsible for how customers browse, substitute and check out online. Loblaw Digital also runs Joe Fresh and Shoppers Drug Mart's e-commerce.
Why is online grocery harder than other e-commerce?
A typical online order is under five items and arrives exactly as ordered; a grocery basket is around 30 items, any of which a store picker may have to substitute, and it has to be packed across temperature zones so eggs don't freeze and ice cream doesn't melt (TechTO stage 2019-12-21).
What was Loblaw's online grocery footprint when he spoke?
700 PC Express pickup locations by the end of that week, including GO and TTC stations, a two-hour buffer between order and pickup, an Instacart partnership offering a one-hour delivery window, and a scan-and-go pilot running in eight stores (TechTO stage 2019-12-21).
What is Howard Chan doing now?
Not established. The role above is the one he held on the TechTO stage in December 2019; no public source confirms a current position, and this page does not publish from LinkedIn or contact-data aggregators.