Wegmans Tests In-House Floral Delivery Service

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Wegmans' Pittsford store here has launched a new in-house floral delivery service that will service any address in surrounding Monroe County. The company said the test was an effort to see if it could reduce costs for shoppers while extending available service hours for delivery.

“Previously we had a delivery arrangement with an outside service,” the company's senior vice president of consumer affairs, Mary Ellen Burris, explained in her weekly online column earlier this month.

“It was costly for customers to use, and could not provide Sunday deliveries. So we decided to do it ourselves and extend the service to seven days a week, and evenings.”

The delivery fee is $8 for orders of $45 or more, and custom arrangements are also available. Orders can be made via phone, email, or through a floral representative in the store.

“It takes advantage of three talented designers at Pittsford who have set a new standard for beautiful flower arrangements. Kim, Mark, and Audrey can design custom arrangements, depending on what you want and what's freshest in the shop at the time.”

The store has also purchased and colorfully decorated a van for floral deliveries. All delivery personnel will be in uniform and will be required to wear a security badge with a picture, Burris said.

Wegmans' Pittsford store has been the location chosen for numerous test launches. It serves as the pilot store for the chain's flower shops, as well as for new programs in other departments. During the past two years, the store has tested a seafood bar where shoppers can learn cooking techniques and taste different varieties of seafood, a tea bar that gives shoppers the chance to taste a large variety of bulk teas, a macrobiotic veggies bar and a skin care department staffed with licensed consultants.

“The good news is we're not moving anything around to make room for the floral delivery service,” Burris said in her column.