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SpartanNash keeps shoppers top of mind in online grocery

Click-and-collect, home delivery services cater to local market

Russell Redman

July 12, 2018

3 Min Read
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In rolling out online grocery services, SpartanNash aims to match the medium to the market.

The distributor now offers online grocery shopping and curbside pickup through its Fast Lane service at 60 corporate-owned stores — under the Family Fare Supermarkets, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery and Dan’s Supermarket banners — in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The click-and-collect service initially launched at a Family Fare store in Grandville, Mich., in July 2017.

SpartanNash, which operates 142 stores overall, also provides online grocery home delivery in seven markets via Fast Lane and is currently piloting at-home delivery in several markets with Instacart and The Grocery Runners.Fast_Lane_personal_shopper_SpartanNash.jpg

Most recently, the Fast Lane click-and-collect program became available at the VG’s store in Caro and the D&W store in Kalamazoo, Mich., joining the Family Fare, Forest Hills Foods and other D&W and VG’s locations in the state offering the service.

“The curbside pickup program is currently available at 60 stores, and we'll continue to expand that number in 2018 and beyond. As with many retail operations, it takes time to implement it throughout our company footprint,” said Brian Holt, vice president of marketing at Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash. “With 14 store banners serving store guests in eight states, we recognize that Fast Lane isn’t for every market at this time. Each store and each customer is different, and our long-term goal is to create the best Fast Lane experience possible in the markets where it is offered while continuing to evaluate our markets and customer needs.”

To use the Fast Lane service, customers go online to ShopTheFastLane.com, order their groceries and select a time frame to pick up their items at a designated parking spot at their local store. Orders must be placed by a certain time, depending on the store, for same-day pickup. Fast Lane personal shoppers, who are SpartanNash associates, pick the ordered items from store aisles. In submitting their orders, customers can make notes for the Fast Lane shoppers to follow, including requests for specific items, such as green bananas or thick-sliced ham from the deli.

VGs_Fast_Lane_curbside.jpg

“Since we launched Fast Lane in July 2017, we have continued to expand its offerings and convenience for our customers,” Holt said. “For example, in February 2018, we added the ability to clip digital coupons instantly on ShopTheFastLane.com, giving customers additional ways to maximize their savings by alerting them to digital coupons they can clip and redeem the instant they add eligible items to their online cart.”

SpartanNash first launched home delivery via Fast Lane in late November at a D&W store in Grand Rapids (serving five ZIP codes). Personal shoppers and delivery drivers in the Fast Lane program are SpartanNash associates. The company then expanded Fast Lane home delivery to five more Grand Rapids-area stores (serving 24 ZIP codes), including Family Fare, D&W and Forest Hill Foods. The service is now offered in Grand Rapids, Holland and Fenton, Mich.; Bismarck, N.D.; Rapid City, S.D.; Hudson, Wis.; and St. Peter, Minn.

Home delivery programs are being tested in the Omaha, Neb., and Fargo, N.D., markets with Instacart and in Holland and Fenton, Mich., and Rapid City, S.D., with The Grocery Runners.

“Through our partnership with Instacart, store guests can select from 16 Family Fare stores in Omaha and Fargo, with Instacart shoppers fulfilling the orders and delivering their groceries from store to door,” Holt explained. “Through our partnership with The Grocery Runners, our own Family Fare and VG’s associates shop customer orders in-store and focus on selecting fresh, quality items from each aisle, with The Grocery Runners taking the orders ‘the final mile’ to our customers’ doorsteps in Holland, eastern Michigan and Rapid City.”

Going forward, Holt noted, SpartanNash will employ a simple formula in growing home delivery service: what works best for the customer.

“As we evaluate each at-home delivery option, we'll look at which stores make the most sense to expand the additional home delivery offering and how best to fulfill those orders, whether through our own associates or through a partnership with a third-party vendor,” he said.

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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