Regional grocer makes online pickup more accessible
Giant Food is making a major, consumer-friendly change to its online grocery pickup service.
The greater Washington, D.C., regional grocery chain is making its Giant Pickup service free and available same-day within four hours of an online purchase at all 159 Giant Pickup locations. This is the latest in a continuing series of steps Giant has made in the past few years to expand the reach of its omnichannel grocery pickup offering.
In December 2021, Giant launched a new online marketplace called “Ship2Me,” adding tens of thousands of new items for online pickup and delivery. The Ship2Me assortment includes expansions into health & beauty, home décor, seasonal items, kitchen & dining, outdoor, pet, and premium pantry items.
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.
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. In addition, 2021 saw Giant Food eliminate minimum order requirements for all Giant Pickup orders.
And in June 2020, the retailer integrated its e-commerce experience on the Giantfood.com website and Giant Food mobile app, and also joined together the prior Peapod.com and Giantfood.com sites to create a single site on Giantfood.com. Customers who had previously opted for pickup or home delivery through Peapod by Giant at Peapod.com now utilize those services through the integrated Giant website or free mobile app.
"E-commerce demand continues to escalate as more customers discover the time-saving benefits of online shopping at Giant," said Gregg Dorazio, director of e-commerce for Giant Food. "Free pickup on all orders makes this personalized service even more accessible. What could be more convenient than letting our trained associates do the shopping for you? We guarantee 100% satisfaction. Our customers can count on us to select the freshest foods."
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, 83 full-service PNC Banks, and 26 Starbucks locations. In addition, 159 Giant stores include Giant Pickup locations, and online delivery is available in all of the retailer’s markets.