Peapod expands grocery delivery for Giant customers
NORTH COVENTRY » Grocery shopping options are expanding for consumers in the tri-county region.
Online grocer Peapod, in partnership with Giant Food Stores, has opened its newest wareroom in North Coventry. It is the fourth Peapod wareroom to open in Pennsylvania, and brings 120 new jobs to the area.
The wareroom, which opened for business Feb. 19, is attached to the Giant Food Store, 86 Glocker Way in North Coventry. Employees process online orders for groceries for delivery to homes and business in the area or for customer pick-up.
As more shoppers look to the convenience of online grocery shopping and delivery, the new wareroom will enable Peapod to serve up to 25 percent more shoppers in the greater Philadelphia area, according to Sarah Baird, vice president of operations for Peapod.
“We’re very excited about this new facility. We have been in Pennsylvania since 2011 and have had amazing success,” Baird said Tuesday during an event to mark the opening of the facility. She added that Peapod has experienced double digit growth in the region for the last three consecutive years.
“At Peapod, our attention is always on the quality of the service we deliver to the customers — making sure every piece of produce, every piece of meat we send out is perfect,” she said. “And with this opening, we are investing in the neighborhood and our new customers.”
“At the end of the day, customers want to be able to shop how they want, when they want and where they want. Our partnership with peapod allows them to do that,” said Fred Morgan, district director, Giant. “It really is an incredible partnership that benefits customers and the community.”
Plans for the North Coventry wareroom got underway early in 2017 with site selection, according to Justin Hadwin, director of ecommerce, Giant.
“We deliver to a lot of this area already, so this location provides us with a good platform to continue to grow within Chester and Montgomery counties,” he said.
All of the Peapod warerooms in Pennsylvania are housed within Giant Food Store locations, according to Hadwin.
“For us it’s about convenience for our timestarved consumers. It is easy to order, pick up or have the groceries delivered,” he said.
The wareroom is set up like a grocery store with shelves full of products — but it doesn’t carry the same number of items.
“We offer an assortment that is similar to what is in the store. Perishables are 100 percent picked from the store,” he said.
“We want to thank greater Philadelphia Peapod and Giant customers as they have responded positively (and literally) with open doors since 2011 to our service, leading to tremendous growth in this market,” Walt Lentz, Peapod’s acting president, said in a press release. “The new wareroom will allow us to increase capacity and meet the larger demand but we are also proud to bring 120 jobs to North Coventry. Shoppers choose Peapod because they know they can rely on us to deliver convenience, personalized solutions and great value on everyday essentials they care about the most.”
“We want to be the ultimate meal planning and grocery solution for our customers,” John Ponnett, senior vice president, retail operations, Giant said in the release. “The growth we are seeing tells us that our customers want what we all want — choices. We get it. That’s why we provide offer a great in-store experience as well as the option of online grocery shopping and home delivery through Peapod.”
During Tuesday’s opening, Peapod made a $2,500 donation to the Coventry Food Pantry.
Also on hand for the event were North Coventry Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Marks and Supervisor Rebekah Elliott.
Marks thanked Peapod for the donation to the food pantry, calling the pantry’s outreach to the community, “remarkable.” He also welcomed Peapod to North Coventry.
“I couldn’t be more im- pressed by what I have heard and what I have seen today. I look forward to Peapod being part of the community,” he said.
To use Peapod, customers visit www.peapod.com, where they can browse for the items they want — produce and meats, local specialties and all the basics. They will then schedule a time for delivery — either next day or up to two weeks out. Drivers will deliver at the selected time, or customers can arrange to pick-up at designated locations.
Giant shoppers are able to use their Giant loyalty card on Peapod.com and the site also accepts all instore coupons and offers weekly specials.
Peapod, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, has delivered more than 40 million orders to date.
Giant Food Stores LLC has more than 170 neighborhood stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Founded in 1923 in Carlisle, Giant Food Stores is a company of Ahold Delhaize.
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