Jewel-Osco Readies Grocery Delivery

Midwestern grocer Jewel-Osco will begin delivering groceries from 11 Chicago-area locations starting Nov. 7.

The Itasca, Ill.-based retailer will offer free delivery to first-time delivery customers, with prices the same online as they are in-store. Customers will be able to enter their ZIP code to find the store that will fulfill their order, with an option to pick up their order in-store at six of the 11 locations.

Prices range from 95 cents to $9.95 on a minimum $49 order, depending on the time of day and window selected.

“This gives people another option when shopping for groceries,” said Doug Cygan, president of Jewel-Osco. “The Jewel-Osco ecommerce department allows the company to come full circle because we began in 1899 delivering tea.”

Jewel-Osco purchased 60 new trucks that will be used specifically for ecommerce delivery and are equipped to accommodate fresh food. Additionally, the retailer hired nearly 100 people for the ecommerce department to fulfill orders.

The ecommerce service arrives after the Chicago Sun-Times reported in May that Jewel-Osco would have an ecommerce program in place by the end of the summer. Primary rival Mariano's, which operates in the Chicago area, where Jewel-Osco has most of its stores, offers delivery via Instacart and is rolling out parent company Kroger's ClickList click-and-collect program store by store. However, Mariano's doesn't operate an in-house delivery service. 

A banner of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., Jewel-Osco operates 187 stores in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.