Dive Brief:
- Online grocery platform Mercato is putting its Mercato Green annual membership plan on sale for $1 to shoppers for 24 hours on Small Business Saturday, November 30, according to a company release.
- The promotion applies to Mercato's Neighborhood plan, which normally costs $96 annually and secures free unlimited delivery on orders over $35 made within a three-mile radius of stores. The company also offers a City plan that covers a 10-mile radius around stores and costs $276 a year.
- Mercato launched its Green subscription service in October in 25 states and is offering 30-day trials to shoppers.
Dive Insight:
The Small Business Saturday sale follows similar promotions and fee reductions from large-scale competitors. Amazon recently announced two-hour grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh will be free for Prime members. Walmart waived its delivery fees on orders of $50 or more for the month of October in an effort to introduce new shoppers to its Delivery Unlimited plan.
While it doesn't have the scale of major retailers and direct competitors like Instacart and Shipt, Mercato stands out with its position as an e-commerce provider tailor-made for independent grocers. The company received $4 million in funding over the summer, and recently enlisted DoorDash to handle delivery from the majority of its retailer partners, numbering more than 800 stores.
"Amazon, with over 100 million Prime members, continues to put the pressure on main-street retailers, and Mercato Green enables these grocers to fight back,” Mercato founder and CEO Bobby Brannigan said in a statement.
Online grocery is becoming more popular with American shoppers. Sales have grown 15% this year, according to an analysis from Brick Meets Click. The report also found that although online sales are still a small part of overall grocery spending, consumers are willing to give new services a try.
