Meijer Adds 'Grocery By The Case' to Online Menu

As the latest incarnation of its increasingly sophisticated e-commerce offerings, Meijer is now offering free home delivery of bulk-size grocery and dry goods on its Web site, in a program dubbed "Grocery by the Case."

The new program will feature more than 2,000 products that promise shoppers at least a 5 percent savings when buying items by the case vs. individually purchasing them.

Shoppers will not have to pay a delivery fee for orders of $150 and more. For orders below $75, there will be a $6.95 charge, and for orders between $75 and $149.99, the delivery charge will be $9.95, the chain said.

Orders will arrive within five to seven days. The company said it has contracted with several delivery services, including FedEx and UPS, for fulfillment.

"Grocery has always been the cornerstone of the Meijer business, so it's a logical evolution for us offer grocery items to our online shoppers," said Rob Fleener, Meijer's v.p. of marketing and e-commerce. "This is another example of our efforts to help Meijer customers save time and money."

The new service will be segregated in its own section on the Web site, www.meijer.com.

In addition to groceries, the Groceries by the Case program will include household and cleaning supplies, laundry products, pet food and hundreds of other items. On the grocery side, shoppers will find a wide assortment of products available, ranging from salsa and sports drinks to pasta and pancake mix. The product categories include baking; beverages; cereal and breakfast foods; condiments, salad dressings and sauces; pasta, grains and side dishes; snacks and candy; and soup and canned goods.

This latest move follows on the heels of two other marketing twists unveiled in the past three months by the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer.

Last month, Meijer began test-marketing a personal shopping program -- Grocery Express -- that enables shoppers to order groceries online and have them personally delivered to their car at the local Meijer parking lot.

In July, the company launched Meijer Mealbox, a web-based widget that allows customers to plan a week's worth of meals in minutes by providing access to thousands of Meijer recipes, ingredients, coupons and special promotions.

"Grocery by the Case is a very user-friendly and easy-to-navigate site that makes for a smooth online shopping experience," said Fleener adding that the family-held supercenter pioneer will now be the only major player offering free shipping as well.

Meijer operates 185 supercenters throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.
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