Whole Foods Makes E-Commerce Push

Whole Foods Market partnered with San Francisco-based Instacart in September to launch a one-hour grocery delivery service in 15 cities.Consumers place orders on instacart.com or through the service's mobile application, both of which have been integrated with the retailer's recipe database to allow users to easily order some or all of the ingredients needed for a particular dish. Users can also save shopping lists and set up automatic replenishment of regularly used products.The first order is free, with additional orders of at least $10 costing $3.99 or $5.99 for two-hour or one-hour delivery, respectively. A $99 Instacart Express membership provides free delivery for a year on orders of $35 or more.Whole Foods has been promoting the new service in stores through stanchion and checkout signs. A video posted to the retailer's YouTube channel (see below) promotes the service as a way for consumers to shop for themselves and buy gifts for friends or family members. A Sept. 19 email blast sent to the retailer's subscribers in participating markets linked to the video. Facebook updates on individual store pages support.The retailer is encouraging trial by giving away scratch-off game pieces with orders from Sept. 12 to Oct. 31. Five winners will receive $5,200 worth of their choice of gift cards for Whole Foods or Instacart.In October, the partners will also test an in-store pick up option in select Austin, TX, and Boston stores with the goal of later rolling out that service to the other cities Instacart serves. "Whole Foods Market is our most requested shopping destination, and we're happy to be working together to create a seamless, quick option for customers with busy lifestyles," Instacart founder and chief executive officer Apoorva Mehta said in a media release.In related activity, the retailer will launch the "Wine Club by Whole Foods Market" (operated by Wine.com) on Oct. 1. Members pay $125 for each shipment of six different bottles of wine chosen by the retailer's global beverage buyer and associate global beverage buyer. Subscribers receive their packages in February, May, September and November."Whole Foods Market has a long-standing commitment to offering high-quality wines to customers," global beverage buyer Doug Bell said in a media release. "We were the first national grocer to open wine bars in our stores … The Wine Club by Whole Foods Market marks another first for the company, and we see it as the next evolution to satisfy and delight our very passionate wine shoppers. And, we look forward to turning on potential new shoppers or enthusiasts who might not live near a Whole Foods Market to some delicious wines."A microsite on wholefoodsmarket.com currently allows consumers to sign up to receive a notification when the club launches and provides information on the first six wines including recipes for suggested food pairings.

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