BRAINTREE, Mass. — Despite the economic downturn, Peapod by Stop & Shop, a division of Ahold USA here, has seen the number of new customers who have signed up for the online grocery shopping service grow by about 20% so far this year compared with the same period last year, with the number of existing customers remaining steady, Peg Merzbacher, Peapod’s director of marketing, told SN.
One reason for the jump is that since the start of the year, Peapod has waived its delivery fees — $6.95 for orders over $100 and $9.95 for orders between $60 and $100 — for 60 days for new customers. In addition, Peapod has been emphasizing its ability to save shoppers money.
“The Web functionality makes it really easy to be a smart shopper,” said Merzbacher.
Among the money-saving features: a running total of expenditures as shoppers compile their order; the ability to trim orders if they exceed the shopper’s budget; less impulse shopping; and a function that compares the unit price of similar items.
Peapod’s system also allows shoppers to identify which of their customary purchases are on sale, “so it’s easy to find the values quickly,” she noted.
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