Earl S. Cryer/UPI Photo
Salad Days For Web Grocers
The combination of high gas prices and rising food prices is ringing up robust sales for Web grocers. “One retail channel that is really winning now is online,” says Todd Hale, a senior vice-president at Nielsen. FreshDirect, the largest online grocer in the New York area, won’t release sales figures but reports it is seeing growth in areas such as ready-to-eat meals. “People are traveling less and eating out less,” says Steve Druckman, chief marketing officer at FreshDirect. “They are turning to us for things to eat at home.” To feed that demand, the company has been expanding its “4-minute meals” line of entrees, developed in conjunction with upscale eateries such as Rosa Mexicano and Tabla. FreshDirect also says that customers are returning more frequently, with the interval between orders shrinking by 20% in the last four months. Peapod, an online grocer based in Skokie, Ill. that serves 300,000 customers in seven states, has held the line on delivery charges, despite rising gas prices. Its reward: Sales are up by 15% in the past year. America’s largest online retailer is also making a move into food. Amazon is trying out a service called AmazonFresh in the Seattle area. The trend is gathering steam overseas, too. Researcher IGD estimates that Britain’s online grocery market will more than double, to $10.2 billion, by 2012.
