Trends in Greeting Cards and Floral
Underscoring shopper interest in fresh products that can be delivered to a destination of their choice, The Kroger Co. has widened its delivery options from the Uber Eats Marketplace to include flowers and sushi. Just ahead of Mother’s Day, Cincinnati-based Kroger introduced the delivery of premium Bloom Haus floral bouquets from its stores around the country. Shoppers can also now order sushi from Kroger locations through the Uber Eats app and website.
According to Kroger, bouquets and sushi items can be delivered in a matter of minutes. Customers can choose from a variety of floral options or order up lunch, dinner or a snack with sushi offerings such as rolls and combos, dumplings, poké bowls, bottled sauces and more. Orders for all items are prepared and packed at Kroger’s family of stores.
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“Kroger continues to bring customers additional ways to enjoy their favorite fresh products with zero compromise on convenience or value,” said Stuart Aitken, SVP chief merchant and marketing officer for Kroger, in May, when the delivery options debuted. “Now with Uber Eats, our customers have more options to quickly and easily order a California Crunch Roll for dinner tonight or send a fresh, premium floral bouquet just to say, ‘I’m thinking about you.’”
According to Christian Freese, head of grocery and retail for the United States and Canada at San Francisco-based Uber, the new service reflects the growing reach of digital commerce.
“Finding the freshest, highest-value treats — even for delivery — can be time-consuming,” remarked Freese. “This new curated collaboration with Kroger across floral and sushi makes it easier than ever for people to treat themselves and others on-demand.”
To kick off the delivery service, Kroger offered special promotions to eligible customers through June 30. The bouquets and sushi selections are available on UberOne, Uber Eats’ membership program, where discounted delivery and service fees are applied at checkout.
Cards on Demand
Earlier this year, white-label e-commerce platform eGrowcery integrated Card Isle’s personalized greeting card solution into the eGrowcery digital shopping service to increase overall shopper engagement.
“eGrowcery is in the business of helping our retail customers differentiate themselves from larger chains,” noted Patrick Hughes, CEO of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based eGrowcery, in April, when the news was made public. “By partnering with Card Isle and similar services that grow the retailer’s market footprint, we’re making it easier for that operator’s customers to do even more shopping at their stores.”
The partnership added a curated range of greeting cards to retailers’ e-commerce sites. Printed on demand at stores, the cards offer convenience and customization. The printed cards can be picked up at the stores or delivered.
“Both Card Isle and eGrowcery are designed to truly engage consumers by enabling them to shop the way they want to shop,” said David Henry, COO and co-founder of Blacksburg, Va.-based Card Isle, which has brought to market such internet-connected greeting card technologies as kiosks, printers and e-commerce products. “Integrating our cards into the eGrowcery platform will help both companies and their mutual retail customers flourish.”
The physical greeting card market in the United States is estimated to reach $13.4 billion in the next five years, according to New York-based Reportlinker.com.
