UPDATED: 5/2/17
Too busy or too tired to run to the grocery store? Then check out Meijer's new home delivery service, just launched in Cincinnati, which brings your weekly order right to your door.
We checked it out to see if its a good deal or a case of don't waste your money.
Delivery team goes to work
Liz Pennington may look like a typical harried shopper, but if you watch her closely, you'll see she's shopping for someone else.
"I have a customer who wants two boneless skinless chicken breasts," she told us, while scanning the chicken aisle.
Pennington is part of the brand new "Shipt" team at Meijer, personal shoppers who will now do the work for you. Shipt is an independent Alabama-based company that runs the service, at Meijer and a number of other mid-size chains around the country.
"They want the Meijer brand fresh pico de gallo," Pennington said, making sure she grabbed the correct brand from the display case.
Meijer is launching home grocery delivery with green-shirted shoppers like Pennington picking up and delivering the items you order on your phone.
"People answer the door and they almost seem surprised," she said. "They order it, and they are thrilled it actually worked, it actually showed up."
What you get with membership
Cost? $99 a year, the same as a one year Amazon Prime membership. Shipt's Julie Coop says you get a year of free delivery, with no surcharges.
"We sell membership based services for $99 a year. That gives you free unlimited delivery on all orders over $35." (It's $7 delivery per order if your total is below $35).
UPDATE: Upon further research we have learned of a few minor downsides:
- A 10% surcharge on the price of most items, which Shipt says covers the cost of the personal shopper.
- No MPerk rewards yet (though that may change.
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No paper coupons (though the Meijer/Shipt app contains in-app specials each week.
But it is all about saving time. Think of how long it will take you to go to the store just to get a small basket of groceries like this. That can be an hour out of your day, making the extra cost well worth it.
"We're all time-starved. We're looking for ways to make our lives easier," Meijer's Art Sebastian said. "Home delivery can save you a couple of hours a week."
Sebastian says the service is already a hit in Michigan, where it launched last fall, and suspects it will be a hit here as well.
Is it worth trying?
Time-starved shopper "Rachel," waiting at her Anderson Township home, said she was thrilled at how convenient the service was.
"It was great," she said, examining her delivery.
Kroger and Walmart already offer a pick up service, where you order on your phone and then pick up at the store. But this takes it to the next level.
So is it worth it? It's certainly worth trying, and you can do that for $14 delivery for the first month.
The only downside we could find is that you can't pick out your own fresh vegetables or beef. You have to trust the shopper.
CLICK HERE if you want to learn more or sign up.
That way you don't waste your money.
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