Regional grocer extends on-demand assortment
Giant Food is launching a new online marketplace called “Ship2Me,” which adds tens of thousands of new items for and online delivery.
Via Ship2Me, Giant Food is expanding the product assortment available for its Giant Pickup and Giant Delivers omnichannel fulfillment services. Featuring categories complementary to grocery, Ship2Me will offer products traditionally not found in store, and include expansions into health & beauty, home décor, seasonal items, kitchen & dining, outdoor, pet, and premium pantry items.
Giant customers throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware can find Ship2Me products as they browse its on-demand shopping experience online, and can add items from the marketplace to their cart alongside any other products for one seamless checkout.
Customers can filter through categories within the integrated experience to view items offered by both Giant and Ship2Me for one-stop shopping. Items purchased via Ship2Me are always shipped directly to Giant customers. There is no order minimum for customers purchasing only Ship2Me items, and ground shipping is always free on any order.
In the coming months, Giant Food plans to continue expanding the number of vendors and products available through Ship2Me. Giant Flexible Rewards customers can also earn loyalty points on Ship2Me item purchases, which can be redeemed for grocery savings with Giant or gas savings through Giant's Fuel Rewards program.
Giant Food has been launching a variety of new omnichannel offerings in recent months. In October 2021, the company began piloting the Flashfood app at three select Maryland and Virginia stores. Flashfood enables customers to browse deals on fresh items like meat, produce boxes, dairy and bakery items, as well as center-store foods and snacks that are nearing their best-by dates. Purchases are made directly through the app, and customers then pick their order up from the Flashfood zone located inside their participating Giant store.
During summer 2021, Giant Food began accepting federal EBT SNAP payments for eligible items for online in-store pickup and curbside pickup orders, and also marked Pride Month with a special sections of its e-commerce site featuring curated merchandise and services for customers who are members or allies of the LGBTQ community.
"Online grocery demand continues to grow, and we are constantly working to increase our capabilities and offerings to best serve the communities we operate in," said Ira Kress, President of Giant Food. "We are thrilled to be the first brand under the Ahold Delhaize USA family to be launching Ship2Me and bringing this innovative and expansive marketplace to our customers."
"At Giant, we are always looking for ways to give time back to our customers and make our services more convenient and accessible," said Gregg Dorazio, director of e-commerce for Giant Food. "The introduction of Ship2Me allows Giant to expand its assortment within traditional and nontraditional grocery categories, making it the most seamless one-stop-shop for our customers."
Giant Food is a banner of grocery conglomerate Ahold Delhaize USA. Headquartered in Landover, Md., it operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the stores are 152 full-service pharmacies, 82 full-service PNC Banks and 25 Starbucks locations.