Meijer, Sam’s Club add digital shopping options

Survey: More people buying groceries online

Two national retailers on Thursday announced expansions of their delivery and pickup options, including in Wisconsin, as digital shopping continues to transform U.S. retailing.

The delivery service tweaks by Meijer and Sam’s Club come as a new survey shows food is increasingly being purchased online.

CreditCards.com said Thursday that 26 percent of U.S. adults are buying groceries online every week and 21 percent are purchasing prepared food/ drinks every week.

“Those are the top two categories by a wide margin and help illustrate why credit card issuers are prioritizing food purchases,” according to the report.

Meijer adds order pickup

Grand Rapids, Mich.,-based Meijer said Thursday it is expanding its Meijer Home Delivery program to include a pick-up option at stores across the Midwest, “building on a chain-wide initiative to offer customers multiple ways to conveniently shop its stores,” according to a statement.

“Customers are always looking for ways to manage busy schedules and maximize their time, so we believe offering pick up enhances our Meijer Home Delivery program, especially around the holiday shopping season,” Keith Rothstein, group vice president of merchandise services for Meijer, said in a statement.

The service is now available at 227 Meijer supercenters in six states. Meijer Home Delivery and Pickup orders are fulfilled by Shipt.

Meijer Pickup is available at any Meijer store that offers Home Delivery and is included as part of a Meijer Home Delivery membership.

Meijer customers can sign up for the service at for $99 a year and receive unlimited deliveries for free on orders over $35; a flat $7 delivery fee is added to any orders under $35.

Privately held Meijer operates more than 240 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Sam’s Club expands delivery

Also Thursday, Sam’s Club and Instacart announced a national expansion, bringing online grocery delivery to nearly 350 Sam’s Clubs across the nation by the end of 2018 — including Milwaukee.

Sam’s Club is the warehouse shopping division of Bentonville, Ark., based Walmart Inc.

Beginning Thursday, Instacart customers in Milwaukee and elsewhere will have the option to shop Sam’s Club without a membership. However, “Sam’s Club members will receive lower, member-only pricing,” according to a statement.

“To help the holidays run smoothly, we’re offering a wide product assortment available on Instacart so shoppers can now get household goods delivered,” Sachin Padwal, Sam’s Club’s vice president of product management, said in a statement.

“We took a look at top selling items from all orders for Sam’s Club + Instacart, and while you can get almost anything from the club delivered (including general merchandise...) we found that people love doing their regular grocery trip via delivery,” according to the statement.

Instacart and Sam’s Club collaboration launched in February with 61 clubs.