Meijer Launches Specialty Food Web Site
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Meijer Inc. here has launched a specialty foods shopping Web site that allows customers to search for hard-to-find products not found on the retailer's store shelves and have them delivered.
Meijer's specialty food site features 40,000 food items under various categories, including kosher, organic, international, "Collections" gift items and celebrity-related lines, diet, and health and wellness. The site also invites customers to make special requests for items they can't find. Meijer, in turn, pledges to search and respond to customer inquire within about five days. The specialty food site does not offer meats or perishables
For fulfillment, Meijer works with a Chicago-based specialty foods distributor that ships through United Parcel Service. Customers who place orders less than $25 are charged a $2.50 handling fee while the remainder of the shipping charges are based on the weight of the order. Payment is by credit card at the time of the order, which arrives within two to five days, depending on the location.
Meijer is no stranger to online grocery shopping. Several years ago, the retailer, along with Spartan Stores, entered in a partnership with Priceline.com's now defunct Pricehouse Webhouse Club in an online program, which, however, did not provide delivery to the customer's door. Meijer also experimented with online general merchandise site, which also never took off.
The family-owned Meijer operates more than 170 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.
Meijer's specialty food site features 40,000 food items under various categories, including kosher, organic, international, "Collections" gift items and celebrity-related lines, diet, and health and wellness. The site also invites customers to make special requests for items they can't find. Meijer, in turn, pledges to search and respond to customer inquire within about five days. The specialty food site does not offer meats or perishables
For fulfillment, Meijer works with a Chicago-based specialty foods distributor that ships through United Parcel Service. Customers who place orders less than $25 are charged a $2.50 handling fee while the remainder of the shipping charges are based on the weight of the order. Payment is by credit card at the time of the order, which arrives within two to five days, depending on the location.
Meijer is no stranger to online grocery shopping. Several years ago, the retailer, along with Spartan Stores, entered in a partnership with Priceline.com's now defunct Pricehouse Webhouse Club in an online program, which, however, did not provide delivery to the customer's door. Meijer also experimented with online general merchandise site, which also never took off.
The family-owned Meijer operates more than 170 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.