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Food Lion expands Instacart delivery to half of its stores

More growth planned for Food Lion To-Go online grocery service

Russell Redman

July 15, 2020

2 Min Read
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Food Lion provides online grocery delivery and pickup under the Food Lion To-Go brand, powered by Instacart.Food Lion

Ahold Delhaize USA’s Food Lion supermarket chain has launched same-day online grocery delivery via Instacart at another 300-plus stores in five states.

Food Lion said Instacart service became available yesterday at 302 stores in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. With the expansion, more than 500 Food Lion stores now offer Instacart delivery.

The Salisbury, N.C.-based grocer reported that it plans to bring Instacart delivery service to more towns and cities. Overall, the chain operates over 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.

“Expanding this convenient service to 302 stores in the Food Lion footprint is more important than ever,” Evan Harding, director of digital and e-commerce marketing at Food Lion, said in a statement. “We want to give local neighbors the option to shop through the channel they prefer, in-store or online, while still ensuring they have access to the freshest groceries at affordable prices.”

Food Lion provides online grocery delivery and pickup under the Food Lion To-Go brand. Customers place orders through the Food Lion To-Go website and mobile app, both built and powered by Instacart Enterprise, or via the Instacart online marketplace.

Instacart personal shoppers pick and pack Food Lion To-Go orders and deliver them to customers’ homes within the selected time window. Orders can be delivered in as soon as an hour or scheduled up to two weeks in advance.

Related:Food Lion to buy 62 Bi-Lo, Harveys stores from Southeastern Grocers

Food Lion grocery delivery through Instacart is available seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The chain noted that customers ordering online will get the same product pricing as in stores.

Last month, Food Lion linked its loyalty program to its Instacart-powered services, enabling customers to use digital coupons and redeem Shop & Earn MVP rewards when ordering online for store pickup or home delivery. Customers can see their accumulated Shop & Earn rewards on their checkout screen as well as the clipped digital coupons applied to their order, in addition to MVP discounts, in-store promotions and weekly savings specials. 

Food Lion began its partnership with San Francisco-based Instacart in 2016 with a pilot of online grocery delivery service in the Charlotte, N.C., market.

Though Instacart manages Food Lion’s online shopping portal and delivery service, the supermarket chain uses its own trained personal shoppers to pick and bag groceries for Food Lion To-Go pickup orders and bring them to customers when they arrive at the store. Food Lion initially tested To-Go pickup at three stores in 2017 before expanding the pilot to another 50 stores in 2018 and bringing the service to more stores last summer.

Related:Food Lion links loyalty program to online grocery services

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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