Hannaford Reopens E-Commerce Site

Ahold Delhaize’s Hannaford chain has reopened its Hannaford To Go e-commerce capabilities, which the chain shut down for more than two weeks as it redeployed workers to meet booming demand in-stores as the coronavirus crisis struck. The reopening is another signal that the initial rush to stores that accompanied the pandemic has moderated at least a little, although likely remains elevated vs. typical times due to voluntary or mandated shutdowns of alternate venues for food shopping.

The Scarborough, Maine-based retailer temporarily cut off service of Hannaford To Go on March 17,  saying it needed to redeploy workers focused on fulfilling online orders to front-line service in stores instead.

It is resuming Hannaford To Go with temporary changes regarding service limitations and substitutions—and a warning to shoppers that availability for orders would remain constrained. That is an issue hundreds of grocers have dealt with since the onset of the crisis.

Image: Hannaford Facebook

In a message on its website, Hannaford urged shoppers to reserve time slots early and noted reduced inventories could make some items unavialable.

A new substitutions policy is in place due to fluctuations in availability. Hannaford said customers were likely to experience increased substitutions and could wind up with unfamiliar brands. It also said that all sales were final.

To meet social distancing guidelines, Hannaford said it would not accept cash, checks, EBT or paper coupons for online orders and that it would maintain 6-foot distances during the pickup process.

Hannaford also said it would waive pickup fees for orders of more than $125—a process that mirrors a message the company relayed to in-store shoppers this week: visit less often, consider shopping in less busy times, and buy more stuff.