Giant Food makes online grocery pickup a free service

Giant Food has dropped its click-and-collect fee to make pickup free for all online grocery orders.

Landover, Md.-based Giant said Tuesday that same-day Giant Pickup service, with orders ready within four hours of purchase, is now available at no charge via the grocer’s 159 pickup sites. Previously, click-and-collect service carried an everyday fee of $2.95.

The move comes after Giant last September eliminated the minimum order requirement for all Giant Pickup orders. Also at the time, the retailer removed fees for Giant Delivers midweek orders (Tuesday to Thursday) and, for orders placed during the Friday-to-Monday period, halved the delivery fee to $3.95. Delivery minimum order amounts also were cut to $30 from $60.

“E-commerce demand continues to escalate, as more customers discover the time-saving benefits of online shopping at Giant,” Gregg Dorazio, director of e-commerce at Giant Food, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Free pickup on all orders makes this personalized service even more accessible. What could be more convenient than letting our trained associates do the shopping for you? We guarantee 100% satisfaction. Our customers can count on us to select the freshest foods.”

Giant noted that it also offers customers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to shop for their groceries online and pay for them directly with their SNAP electronic benefits transfer card, including for both Giant Pickup and Giant Delivers orders. That capability became available last July.

Related:Giant goes live with Ship2Me ‘endless aisle’ service

In addition, in December, Giant launched the Ship2Me digital marketplace on GiantFood.com. The “endless aisle,” direct-to-consumer service offers more than 60,000 items not traditionally found in supermarkets, including such product categories as health and beauty care, home decor, seasonal items, kitchen and dining, outdoor, pet care and premium pantry items, the retailer said.

Overall, Giant operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, including 152 pharmacies, 83 PNC Banks and 26 Starbucks locations. Giant Delivers is available through all stores, while Giant Pickup is offered at 159 stores. For both services, dedicated Giant associates process all orders, from picking and packing to curbside fulfillment and delivery.

Giant launched Giant Delivers in October 2019 as a rebrand of its former online grocery delivery brand, Peapod by Giant. That followed the July 2019 introduction of Giant Pickup, which grew to 100 stores by the end of that year.

Related:Giant Food offers fee break on home delivery

Fellow Ahold Delhaize USA chain The Giant Company also dropped the pickup fee last month for its Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct online grocery services. Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant/Martin’s, too, went live with the Ship2Me online marketplace this past January.