Wegmans Expands Curbside Pickup Via Instacart

Wegmans Food Markets is expanding curbside grocery pickup through its partnership with Instacart.

The retailer is rolling out curbside pickup to all of its 19 Rochester, N.Y.-area locations by Feb. 28. Wegmans locally introduced the pilot service last March, beginning with its Pittsford store and expanding in September to its Chili-Paul Wegmans store.

“Our customers are busy, so when it comes to grocery shopping, they appreciate a range of options that allows them to get the task done with ease, when and how they want,” said Erica Tickle, Wegmans' e-commerce group manager, in a statement. “Now it’s as simple as placing your order online and picking it up curbside at your convenience, all with no additional delivery fee or tipping.”

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans said it began the rollout of curbside grocery pickup last week at the following stores: Brockport, Irondequoit, Ridge-Culver, Latta Road, Lyell Avenue, Mt. Read, Ridgemont, East Avenue, Eastway, Fairport, Holt Road, Penfield and Perinton.

By the end of the month, the service will also be available at its Calkins Road, Canandaigua, Geneseo, Geneva, Marketplace and Newark stores.

Wegmans shoppers can visit Instacart.wegmans.com or log on to the Instacart app to shop, select a pickup time and pay for their order, which requires a minimum of $10 for curbside pickup. Customers will then receive an order confirmation with pickup instructions and a phone number to call when they are within 10 minutes of the store to alert Wegmans employees to prepare to load the order into the car.

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Once shopped, orders are held in a temperature-controlled staging area inside the store until customers arrive, Wegmans said.

The 98-store supermarket chain also offers delivery via Instacart, which is available throughout the company’s six-state footprint of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. Delivery now starts at $3.99, or free for Instacart Express members, for orders of $35 or more. For delivery and pickup, Wegmans said it adds a price increase to items ordered to cover the cost of Instacart shopping services.