Dive Brief:
- Meijer is adding grocery pickup to its Meijer Home Delivery program at its stores across the Midwest, according to a release. The grocer's home delivery program is available at 227 Meijer supermarkets in six states. Customers can shop online and have a personal shopper pick out the products and deliver it to consumer doors or to their cars. All orders, both delivery, and pickup are fulfilled by Shipt.
- Pickup service is included in the Meijer Home Delivery membership. Members can shop for groceries at ShopMeijer.com, keep track of their basket, choose between pickup and delivery as well as a preferred delivery or pickup window.
- Meijer stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, the store pickup option is only available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Meijer's pickup and delivery service subscription costs $99 a year. With the subscription, customers receive unlimited deliveries for orders more than $35. A $7 flat delivery fee is added onto orders under $35.
Dive Insight:
Meijer's latest move gives consumers the option to pick up products last-minute but not have to waste time shopping in the store during the busy holiday seasons. Whether it's groceries to make Thanksgiving Dinner or last-minute toys for Christmas gifts, its pickup service will be an added value that consumers will notice at a busy time of the year.
More importantly, adding store pickup brings Meijer up to speed with competitors like Walmart and Target that have also rapidly expanded the service. Walmart's free grocery pickup has proved successful for the retailer, with nearly 2,000 stores across the country offering the option and many more to follow. The retailer has said 30% of those who use the service are new shoppers, making it a potent customer-acquisition tool. Target, meanwhile, just announced it will expand its Drive Up service to 1,000 stores by the end of this year, in addition to free two-day shipping and a fast growing same-day delivery service.
Pickup is cheaper for retailers, since it factors out expensive last-mile costs. It also expands grocers reach, helping them appeal to consumers who commute, who want to pay less for their orders and those who prefer to come into stores. But the predicted boom in online grocery shopping means delivery isn't going anywhere. According to a 2018 study by FMI and Nielsen, almost 70% of American consumers will buy their groceries online in the next five to seven years.
All in all, the grocer's addition of pickup better positions it to go head to head with its competition while also satisfying customers. This is in addition to the grocer's most recent rollouts like its customizable meal kits, sustainability and cost-cutting efforts, and the launch of its Bridge Street Market store, which is a similar size to Target's 20,000 to 30,000 square-foot store.