Dive Brief:
- Delivery service goPuff announced on Monday that it teamed up with Purlab to offer on-demand, at-home COVID-19 testing kits.
- GoPuff, which fills orders from more than 200 fulfillment centers to serve 500 cities across 38 states and Washington, D.C., says it is the first company in the U.S. to offer instant delivery of at-home COVID-19 test kits. The tests will be delivered "in just minutes from our local micro-fulfillment centers," according to Rafael Ilishayev, goPuff’s co-founder and co-CEO.
- The announcement comes at a time when novel coronavirus cases are on the rise and food retailers have been increasing access to at-home COVID-19 testing kits both in-store and online.
Dive Insight:
GoPuff’s foray into COVID-19 testing kits gives shoppers on-demand access, cutting out a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy or requiring people to wait for the tests to get shipped to them.
People using the Purlab COVID-19 saliva test register their kit on the mobile app, take the test, pack it in a pre-labeled box and can expect results in as little as 24 hours, Purlab’s president, Michael Cohen, said in the announcement. To help keep delivery drivers safe, goPuff has a non-contact delivery option. The test costs $129 on goPuff, and, according to the announcement, is covered by most insurance carriers.
The new testing option comes at a time when the U.S. has seen COVID-19 cases soar during the holiday season, topping 18 million total cases since the pandemic again.
Kroger led the COVID-19 testing rollout among grocers, from testing employees to offering ship-to-home kits available in select states. The grocer was also the first retailer to start offering antibody tests.
Albertsons followed with its own COVID-19 saliva test kits from genomics firm Phosphorus that shoppers can get shipped to them or pick up at pharmacies. Meanwhile, Walmart is testing out drone deliveries of at-home COVID-19 test kits.
