Wegmans beefs up online offerings
- The regional grocery chain launched a new digital resource called “Feel Your Best” to browse recipes and plan out their meals in a health-focused way.
- Wegmans now also accepts digital EBT SNAP payments.
- Wegmans is the top grocery chain among consumers when it comes to quality, according to Dunhumby’s annual retailer preference index.
Wegmans Food Markets this month improved its e-commerce offerings, accepting EBT SNAP (Electronic Benefits Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits online and creating a new health-focused digital resource for shoppers.
The grocer in a Feb. 15 press release said it would accept EBT SNAP payments on digital orders placed through its website and mobile app. Customers who pay using EBT SNAP will receive free delivery on three orders, the release said.
“Each week, thousands of Wegmans orders are placed on the Wegmans app and website, and we continue to hear from customers that it would be helpful to be able to use their SNAP benefits when placing an order,” said Erica Tickle, Wegmans vice president of e-commerce, in the release. “Adding this functionality is an important step to further increase access to healthy food throughout the communities we serve.”
Wegmans said that it would be easy for shoppers to find items eligible for SNAP benefits by enabling a filter that only shows items that qualify. Consumers can add their SNAP benefits card during checkout and be prompted to add another payment method to purchase items not covered by the benefits. Shoppers can also designate the amount of benefits they want to use when placing an online order.
In addition to accepting SNAP benefits online, Wegmans also announced another digital initiative called “Feel Your Best.” Feel Your Best is an online resource that Wegmans said enables consumers to plan by creating “balanced” meals that help develop healthy eating habits. The resources include tools that allow shoppers to build recipes for as little as $2 per serving, tips to best use Wegmans mobile app and instructions on how to use the grocer’s “wellness keys,” which help customers determine whether a product meets dietary needs, according to the release.
Grocers across the industry continue to invest in the health and wellness space. Albertsons also in February launched its new “Sincerely Health” platform across 16 of its banners, which gives consumers a health score and rewards them for making decisions that improve it. Kroger last year announced a partnership with the American Heart Association and the Rockefeller Foundation focused on addressing health inequity and chronic disease.
Wegmans was named the top grocery chain among consumers when it comes to quality, according to Dunhumby’s annual retailer preference index. The grocer beat out other chains in the category, including Trader Joe’s (second place) and The Fresh Market (third place). Wegmans has topped the category every year since the survey began in 2017. Wegmans is a regional supermarket chain that operates 110 stores across eight states — New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Delaware — and Washington, D.C.