The Fresh Market in Wilmington will now deliver groceries to customers’ homes, joining other grocery stores in the area, such as Whole Foods and Earth Fare, that have also introduced personal shopping and delivery service to provide convenience to customers, according to a Wednesday news release.
The Greensboro-headquartered gourmet grocery store has partnered with Instacart, a technology company that provides same-day grocery delivery and pickup service, to bring grocery delivery to all its 161 stores, including Wilmington.
"After successfully partnering with Instacart in several of our key markets, we found that our guests appreciated having a convenient option to order the specialty foods they love, delivered to their door when they want them," said Mary Kellmanson, chief marketing officer with The Fresh Market, in the release. “We're thrilled to be able to offer our guests a way to order our premium products direct from Instacart and get them delivered to their home in as fast as an hour."
The Fresh Market has one Wilmington location at 1060 International Drive at Mayfaire Town Center.
To celebrate the partnership, The Fresh Market is offering guests their first order delivered free (for both new and existing Instacart users) with promotional code TFM1Free, stated the news release.
To order grocery delivery, customers will have to use the Instacart mobile app. Delivery can be selected as soon as one hour and up to five days in advance.
Cost for delivery is $3.99 for orders of $35 or more, and with an Instacart Express membership of $9.99 a month, customers get unlimited, free deliveries on orders of $35 or more.
Earlier this month, Amazon and Whole Foods
announced their launch of a delivery service in Wilmington and in stores across the country. Earth Fare, another organic product grocery store which made its Wilmington debut last year, also offers grocery delivery to certain Wilmington locations.
Whole Foods offers delivery through Prime Now. Customers can get free two-hour deliveries for orders $35 or more and pay $4.99 for orders under $35.
Earth Fare also partnered with Instacart to provide delivery service and offers the first three deliveries of orders of $35 or more for free.
While a 2019 Bain & Company report shows that only 3% of U.S. grocery spending occurs online, that segment has grown over the years.
According to IBISWorld, an industry market research company, the value of online grocery market in the U.S. has increased from $12 billion in 2016 to $26 billion in 2018.
"We are proud to partner with fresh-focused specialty retailer The Fresh Market to bring their carefully curated products to all of their loyal customers in a new way," said Andrew Nodes, vice president of Retail Accounts at Instacart, in the release. "Now that Instacart is available in all 161 stores, customers can have all the ingredients they need to prepare a memorable meal delivered directly to their door with the same exceptional service they've come to expect from The Fresh Market."