Kroger's Columbus division, which covers a broad swath of southern, central and northern Ohio, is getting a big chunk of the company's two-year, $4 billion capital improvement budget. And that will mean some new stores popping up.

Changes are ahead within Kroger's Columbus division, with new stores planned and an online shopping innovation expected to debut soon.

The area, which covers southern, central and northern Ohio, will benefit from $290 million of the company's two-year, $4 billion capital improvement budget. The Cincinnati-based grocery chain plans to spend about $176 million in central Ohio.

In the works are new stores, including replacements for stores in Newark, Lancaster, Marysville, Marion and and in the Northland neighborhood. The money will also fund the debut of Kroger's order-online, pick-up-at-the-store service, "ClickList," in central Ohio this summer.

Giant Eagle rolled out its "Curbside Express" service last year at about a dozen stores in the region, and Wal-Mart launched its version at four stores here this week. Then there's Amazon's Prime Now service that might not offer as many food options, but can deliver to homes within an hour of ordering.

Analysts agree, ClickList's debut was inevitable.

"Kroger needs to have that service in this market to compete," said Chris Boring, principal of Boulevard Strategies.

"This is a service you need to have today," said David Livingston, an independent grocery analyst.

ClickList, which has been in testing in Cincinnati, will roll out at the Kroger Marketplace store in Gahanna at 300 S. Hamilton Rd., and the store at 2090 Crown Plaza Dr. off Bethel Road in Columbus. Kroger can't say exactly when the service will make its debut, other than sometime this summer. If successful, it will spread to other stores.

The online ordering services are not a large driver of business, but chains have been tinkering with them for years, Livingston said. If ClickList works, given Kroger's market dominance, it could put a dent in Giant Eagle and Wal-Mart's ambitions, he added.

"I think a lot of people had trouble making money at it at first," Boring said of online ordering. "But this is a great service for moms and people with mobility issues."

Not included in the budget is a planned new store in Upper Arlington at the Kingsdale shopping center. That store, which will be a smaller format than its other stores to fit the former Macy's site, will begin construction in 2018, a different capital-budget cycle.

The stores opening in Newark and Marysville will be Marketplace stores, Kroger's large-format store offering groceries plus general merchandise. Those stores are expected to open this fall.

The store at Northland will be a traditional, 100,000-square-foot store.

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