Dive Brief:
- Hy-Vee announced this week it is now offering fulfillment of online orders in as fast as 30 minutes for both delivery and pickup.
- The new chainwide service is available to shoppers who click the “Get it faster” option inside Hy-Vee’s online shopping platform. There is no minimum order size required for pickup, and Hy-Vee Perks members get free rapid pickup and pay a reduced fee for delivery.
- With rapid delivery becoming increasingly popular among consumers, the service helps traditional grocers like Hy-Vee better compete with the likes of Walmart and Amazon in the e-grocery space.
Dive Insight:
Hy-Vee’s new “Get it faster” option accelerates its online ordering fulfillment from its standard two-hour window to 30 minutes.
Customers who pay for the Hy-Vee Perks Plus membership can select rapid pickup for free and access 30-minute delivery for an additional $4.95, according to the press release. For nonmembers, rapid pickup costs $9.95 while rapid delivery costs $14.95, per Hy-Vee’s website.
“By offering online pickup and delivery orders in as fast as 30 minutes, we’re giving busy customers back valuable time in their day so they don't have to worry about waiting for their groceries or other essentials,” Dan Gubbins, Hy-Vee’s vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement.
This new offering from Hy-Vee is timely, with recent data showing that rapid delivery has evolved into a “mainstream fulfillment option,” Coresight reported earlier this month. Coresight’s report noted that speedy fulfillment has garnered a loyal user base and the firm advised grocers to continue positioning their rapid delivery offerings as full-basket shopping options.
