Investments in the online grocery space continue, even as a new poll from Gallup finds that 84% of people have never used such services. A niche offering not so long ago, grocery pickup and delivery continue to grow more widely available by the day.
Whole Foods Market, owned by Amazon, recently launched grocery pickup in Sacramento and Virginia Beach. The company plans to expand to more cities throughout the year. Shoppers can either get free pickup in an hour for orders of $35 or more, or pickup within 30 minutes for $4.99.
Ahold Delhaize, which operates U.S. banners Food Lion, Giant Martins, Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop, revealed as part of its quarterly earnings report that it will be creating a shared e-commerce infrastructure for all its brands. The new entity behind that effort is called Peapod Digital Labs, a reference to the Peapod grocery delivery service that Ahold Delhaize runs.
Target-owned grocery delivery service Shipt has expanded its service to Buy for Less and Uptown Grocery shoppers in Oklahoma City; to Target shoppers in Connecticut, Wisconsin and Maine; and to Hy-Vee and Target shoppers in Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri. Shipt is a membership-based service that costs $99 per year.