Grocery Outlet stores pilot Uber Eats delivery

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. is testing same-day delivery via Uber Eats at 72 stores in six states.

Under the partnership, officially announced Thursday by Uber Technologies Inc., Grocery Outlet customers can shop for groceries through the Uber Eats and Uber apps and online marketplaces and have their orders delivered on demand or scheduled at selected stores in California, Oregon, and Washington, including markets such as Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale.

“We are excited about the long-term potential of our e-commerce initiative at Grocery Outlet and this new partnership with Uber,” Grocery Outlet President RJ Sheedy said in a statement. “We think it’s important to make our great-value products available across another platform and to a greater audience, introducing Grocery Outlet to customers who may not have shopped with us before.”

Emeryville, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet, whose retail model relies on value pricing and a “treasure hunt” shopping experience, is a relative newcomer to the online grocery arena. In late October, the self-described “extreme value” grocer unveiled a 68-store online grocery delivery pilot with Instacart in California, a couple of months after the retailer disclosed that it was in talks with potential e-commerce partners. Then last month, the retailer said it had expanded Instacart same-day service to nearly 400 stores in California, Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Related:Grocery Outlet posts 10.5% net sales gain for Q1

Then in a May 10 conference call on fiscal 2022 first-quarter results, Grocery Outlet CEO Eric Lindberg told analysts that the chain was readying to launch pilots of Uber Eats and DoorDash delivery service.

So far with Instacart delivery, both customers and Grocery Outlet store owners/operators are giving positive feedback, according to Lindberg. “The basket continues to be north of our in-store basket, which we like. We think we’re seeing some incremental customers that would not necessarily come in and see our values,” he said in the analyst call. “So they’re seeing our values online. We think that’s creating a nice cross-shop opportunity.”

In support of the pilot with Grocery Outlet, Uber Eats is offering the chain’s customers no delivery fee on their first order of $30 or more. Those who sign up for an Uber One members get zero delivery fees on all Grocery Outlet orders with a $15 minimum purchase.

“Our goal is to provide a reliable and affordable grocery delivery option that works for everyone, no matter your budget,” according to Oskar Hjertonsson, head of grocery at Uber. “We see our partnership with Grocery Outlet as an opportunity to do just that by delivering customers the brands they like at the Grocery Outlet prices they love, on-demand, right to their door.”

Related:Grocery Outlet goes chainwide with Instacart delivery

Overall, Grocery Outlet’s retail network includes 418 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada and New Jersey.