Dive Brief:
- Drug store chain Rite Aid is joining c-stores like Wawa and 7-Eleven on the Grubhub app, allowing users to have snacks, drinks and health items delivered same-day, according to a recent press release.
- The partnership will add delivery of health supplies as well as household products, prepackaged food and other items to more than 2,000 Rite Aid locations in 16 states.
- The tie-up continues Grubhub’s move into retail delivery, which took off earlier this year with the launch of its convenience delivery channel, Grubhub Goods.
Dive Insight:
This is Grubhub’s first partnership with a national drug store chain. It comes more than two years after Rite Aid partnered with Instacart to allow for delivery of medicine and other items during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delivery will be accessible in 16 of Rite Aid’s 18 states of operation, excluding Colorado and Vermont, according to an email from a Grubhub spokesperson. Additionally, Grubhub+ members won’t have to pay delivery fees on orders from the drug store chain.
Rite Aid is looking to capitalize on customers who come down with an illness and want to get medication and other items without having to leave the house. Grubhub said it recently took an online survey of 2,414 adults about this topic, and found that 47% of the people who participated would be likely to avoid a trip to a drug store when they are feeling sick. Additionally, 67% said they would turn to a delivery service to get their medicine.
Like DoorDash and Uber Eats, Grubhub initially focused on restaurant delivery but has recently expanded into other channels like convenience and drug stores. In addition, it recently added the ability for shoppers to add 7-Eleven items onto their orders from other companies, deepening its involvement with the c-store chain. Grubhub’s spokesperson said the company plans to make other retailers available through this add-on feature in the future.
“7-Eleven is one of our largest convenience partners,” Grubhub’s spokesperson said in an email. “Let’s say a diner places an order for a pizza and after ordering, thinks about how good a soda would pair with it; they are now able to order one with no additional fees.” They added that the program may expand in the future.
The tool is similar to DoorDash’s DoubleDash program that allows for orders from certain partners to be added to shoppers’ primary orders.
Grubhub, which is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com, features more than 365,000 partners in over 4,000 U.S. cities.