Dark Stores Addressing Massive COVID-19 E-Grocery Demand

| Mike O'Brien

A handful of grocery retailers have flipped some locations into so-called dark stores to handle the crush of online orders, but it remains to be seen how widespread the practice will become or how much the trend will stick after the coronavirus threat dies down. Retailers include Amazon/Whole Foods, Kroger, Giant Eagle and Stop & Shop.

Kroger curbside feature

Grocery Buying Behavior Shifting Dramatically Due to COVID-19

| Mike O'Brien

Many more consumers are changing their buying habits in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with 28% of e-grocery shoppers placing their first-ever order during March, according to a study from CPG research firm Acosta. And nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers reported changing their shopping habits by the end of March.

Amazon Staten Island walkout 3.20

Coronavirus: Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart Walkouts, Workers Sick

| Mike O'Brien

While ecommerce was initially thought to be a boon during the coronavirus crisis, with stores and malls in lockdown, execution is proving to be anything but as a growing chorus of drivers and facility associates complain about the danger of exposure. Workers at Amazon, Instacart and Whole Foods staged protest walkouts.

MCM CommerceChat podcast

How Grocers Are Handling Coronavirus and Exploding Store/Online Demand

| Mike O'Brien

While most of retail is in the doldrums due to coronavirus, grocers are seeing explosive growth, and e-grocery has been accelerating rapidly due to shutdowns. Scott DeGraeve, COO and co-founder of Locai Solutions, and Doug Baker, VP, industry relations at FMI, discuss what they’re seeing across the sector, and how it will change.

Grocer Hy-Vee Moving Online Order Fulfillment to Stores

| Douglas P. Clement

Midwest grocery chain Hy-Vee is moving fulfillment of online orders from a network of four fulfillment centers back to its retail stores. The facilities, in Eagan, MN, Des Moines, IA, Omaha, NE and Kansas City, MO, will be closed later this month. The network and logistics made same-day fulfillment difficult, executives said.

Grocers Limit Items, Leave-On-Porch Deliveries Grow Due to Coronavirus

| Mike O'Brien

Panic buying continues to cause empty grocery shelves due to the coronavirus panic, with heavier clusters in affected states as grocery retailers are starting to ration supplies. Same-day delivery providers Instacart and Postmates have expanded a “leave it at my door” option as more spooked shoppers opt for no physical contact.

MCM CommerceChat podcast

The MFC Trend in E-Grocery: Where It Is, Where It’s Going

| Mike O'Brien

Micro fulfillment centers are all the rage in e-grocery – small, highly automated systems that use robotics to fulfill online orders in 1 to 2 minutes. Neil Stern of McMillonDoolittle talks all things MFC in this latest MCM CommerceChat podcast. He’ll also lead an MFC session at Ecommerce Operations Summit (4/14-16, Orlando).

First Amazon Go Self-Serve Grocery Store Online in Seattle

| Douglas P. Clement

Amazon’s hunger for a bigger bite of the $839B grocery market was evident in the opening of the first checkout-less Amazon Go Grocery store in Seattle. The 10,400-square-foot space, roughly 5x the size of an Amazon Go store, stocks 5,000 items. Tech startups AiFi and Grabango are reportedly working on systems for competitors.