Today, Office Depot announced an initiative that it said would help holiday consumers save time and money when they shop online.  The company launched a free one-hour, in-store pickup service for purchases made on www.officedepot.com.

After selecting an item for purchase on www.officedepot.com and placing it in their online shopping cart, consumers can select a Pick Up function as part of the checkout process. They also can check for items with Store Pickup Available using the search bar. Interested consumers enter a zip code or store number and select a pickup location. By about an one hour after check out, shoppers receive an email that states "Good News! Your order is ready for pickup." The email provides instructions on picking up the order. Consumers can recover their orders in-store up to 48 hours after online purchase. After 48 hours, any items not claimed return to inventory, and customer accounts are credited.

"The holiday season is in full swing, and this is another way to enhance the shopping experience for Office Depot customers regardless of whether they choose to do so in store or online," said Mike Kirschner, senior vp/e-commerce for Office Depot, "We are proud to be the first office supply chain to offer this free one-hour pickup service for our customers."