The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Amazon’s Prime Day sale this week was the largest in the company’s history, as the two-day shopping extravaganza raked in higher sales and moved more goods than ever before. And while must-have items from sellers like Apple and Dyson grabbed the spotlight, Amazon also used the high-profile online event to draw attention to its grocery delivery operations.
Thirteen percent of Prime Day buyers bought grocery items, in line with the proportion of shoppers who bought toys and video games, according to early metrics about the event from Numerator. Premier Protein Shakes, which were on sale for 30% off, per Popular Science, took the No. 2 spot on Numerator’s list of the top Prime Day sellers in terms of the number of items shoppers snapped up.
Amazon made a substantial effort to use Prime Day to drive shopper interest in its Amazon Fresh chain, offering $40 off delivery and pickup orders of at least $100. The company’s Whole Foods Market chain, meanwhile, capitalized on the excitement surrounding Prime Day ahead of time, with extra savings over a two-day period last week. Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh also offered unlimited free delivery for 90 days during a multi-week period that ended Thursday, the day after Prime Day wrapped up.
Notably, promotions like those helped drive a sharp increase in grocery delivery sales in June, Brick Meets Click and Mercatus reported this week.
Amazon pointed out that Prime Day helped entice “millions” of shoppers around the world to join its Prime membership program, underscoring the powerful link shoppers draw between delivery subscriptions and the ability to save money.
In case you missed it
Local chain swoops in to claim shuttering Stop & Shop store
Stop & Shop plans to shutter 32 stores across five states by the end of year, but consumers for one of the closing locations can expect a beloved local grocery chain to fill the vacancy. Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace will take over the 53,000-square-foot space at Wheatley Plaza Shopping Center in Greenvale, New York, that Stop & Shop is leaving, Long Island Business News reported. The store will mark the eighth on Long Island for Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace and 12th total, the news outlet noted.
Hurricane sparks food discounts
As people in Houston and along the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Beryl, two prominent grocers in the region are offering up discounts. H-E-B announced Sunday it would automatically give customers at its stores in the Houston area and select locations along the Gulf Coast 10% off all frozen food items, including ice, purchased in-store through Sunday, July 21. The chain has also made donations to local nonprofits and deployed its H-E-B Mobile Kitchen to Sargent, Texas, a Gulf Coast community severely impacted by the hurricane.
Meanwhile, Kroger is offering $10 off a single transaction of $100 or more to customers in the greater Houston area who use their loyalty card, Houston Chronicle reported. The discount applies to eligible perishable and non-perishable items purchased in-store or online for pickup and delivery through Tuesday, July 23.
Walmart ramping up perishables distribution
The retailer announced Tuesday the grand opening of a 730,000 square-foot perishable distribution center in Lancaster, Texas, a city 15 miles south of Dallas. The new facility receives and processes fresh produce, eggs, dairy, flowers and frozen goods for delivery to nearby Walmart stores and is the second of five new high-tech perishable distribution centers for the retailer. Walmart noted in the announcement that perishable distribution centers are “a strategic part” of its supply chain transformation.
Number of the week: 8%
That’s the year-over-year growth grocery e-commerce sales recorded in June, hitting $7.7 billion, according to data released Monday by Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. The growth was largely fueled by delivery sales, which increased by nearly a fifth last month, to $2.9 billion, as promotions by Instacart and Walmart drove sales, the firms noted.
Year-over-year e-commerce sales growth has fluctuated each month this year, with May seeing a decline of just under 1%, April recording a 4% rise and March reporting flat sales growth.
What’s ahead
Albertsons earnings
Albertsons is scheduled to release its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 on Tuesday. Because of its pending merger deal with Kroger, the grocery will not host an investor call.
Impulse find
Just your average Publix sighting
Nothing says “South Atlantic” like alligators and Publix stores.
Earlier this month, a video went viral of an alligator who wedged himself underneath a row of shopping carts outside a store in Summerville, South Carolina.
“Y’all, this is happening right now,” Lisa Royal, who posted a video on Facebook and gave the gator his 15 minutes of fame, said in the video. “There is an alligator under the shopping carts outside.”
Many viewers were unphased, saying in the comments “He’s hot! Wants to go inside!” and “He just wants some yummy Publix chicken!”
