Dive Brief:
- Giant Eagle announced Tuesday an expanded partnership with omnichannel location platform Flybuy to bolster its last-mile delivery service and cut avoidable delivery driver wait times by at least half.
- The partnership extends the technology company’s location-based service, which orchestrates product picking in line with a driver’s distance from the store, to the grocer’s delivery program.
- The expanded partnership comes at a time when grocers are struggling to win consumers’ e-grocery dollars against competitors like Walmart.
Dive Insight:
Giant Eagle’s updated offering aims to reduce wait times for shoppers while also helping gig workers maximize their time.
Flybuy’s AI-powered location technology can pinpoint which driver is arriving for specific orders and send alerts to its main dashboard and picking app. The technology has reduced wait times to less than 2.5 minutes on average.
Giant Eagle first partnered with Flybuy in 2020 — when contactless curbside pickup was at an all-time high because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While e-commerce companies solely focused on rapid delivery have faltered in recent years, the grocery industry is still grappling with how to prioritize consumers’ quick delivery needs. Grocers are also still looking for ways to bolster their e-commerce offerings as Walmart continues to capture a majority of e-grocery dollars. Last month, Brick Meets Click reported Walmart captured 37% of e-commerce grocery dollars, an all-time high for the retailer, while grocers lost online sales.
