Online Grocers

Delivered March 30th, 2018. Contributors: Hannah R., Joshua M., Abigail A. and

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Online Grocery Comparison - Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pantry, Walmart Pick-Up, Kroger Clicklist

We have researched Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pantry, Walmart Pick-Up, and Kroger Clicklist. We have incorporated our findings into this spreadsheet. In order to locate this information we relied on corporate websites and trusted media sources, which supplied all the requested information. 

Below, you will find an overview of our findings! 
Amazon Fresh: They offer a free trial for both delivery and pickup.  There is no reduced minimum order size, no dollars off, and no free product.  The standard delivery fee is $9.99, or free over $50. There is no pickup fee, no bag fee, no fuel surcharge, and they do not state if they allow tips. Amazon Fresh does follow a subscription model, it is a month subscription of $14.99/month (added onto the cost of the Amazon Prime subscription).
Amazon Pantry:  Amazon Pantry offers no free trials, no reduced minimum order size, no money off and no free products. Their standard delivery is $5.99.  They do not offer pickup, there is no minimum order, no additional fees, and tipping is not applicable (this is a delivery only service).  There is no inherent subscription price for this service, but you must be an Amazon Prime member.
Walmart Pick-Up: For Walmart Pick-Up, all the information was located at the bottom of the page in Grocery Pickup FAQ. Walmart Pick-Up offered no trial offers.  They offer free pickup, but their standard delivery fee and standard minimum orders vary.  There is no service charge, no listed bag fees, no fuel surcharge, they do not allow tips, and there is no subscription fee.
Kroger Clicklist:  Kroger Clicklist offers a free delivery trial and offers the first 3 pickups free, but they offer no other trial offers. Their standard delivery fee is $5.95 and their pickup fees vary by region. There is no standard minimum order, but they do charge a service charge of $6.00. The bag fees are not listed, there is no fuel surcharge, tips are allowed during delivery but not at pickup (delivery is outsourced to a third party), and there is no subscription fee.
ConclusionWe have complied the information requested and entered it into rows 2-5, columns B-N of the following spreadsheet.

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Online Grocery Comparison - Streetside, Safeway, Costco, and Fresh Direct

We have researched Streetside, Safeway, Costco, and FreshDirect and answer questions about their online delivery services. Below, is  an overview of the findings in the spreadsheet to explain potential caveats. All the information requested can be found on the provided spreadsheet.
Notes on sources and an OverviewSTREETside: All the information requested was found on STREETside’s official site. STREETside has a trial, but they do not call it a “trial.” For your first order, they waive the $10 delivery fee which is effectively a trial. Pickups are free regardless. However, STREETside has a $50 minimum for orders.

Safeway: Safeway’s information was found on Safeway’s online order page as well as an FAQ with detailed information. Safeway has free delivery temporarily but orders must reach a $100 minimum. Normally, orders must be $30 or higher to be delivered. Safeway does not accept delivery tips. Fuel surcharges range depending on gas prices from $0 to $0.48+. Note that for bag prices the FAQ says customers will be charged “where applicable.” I added those exact words in the spreadsheet due to the lack of clarity. As for pickup, the site and the FAQ does not note any prices.

Costco: Costco requires a minimum $60 annual subscription to order anything or shop at their physical locations. Costco does not have a free trial. For deliveries, they allow same day or two day deliveries. Same day delivery requires an order of $35 or higher and has a service cost. Two day delivery is free if orders of $75 or above are made, however no price was stated for orders lower than $75. Additionally, information such as bag costs and fuel surcharges were not listed on their site. When shopping in-store, Costco does not usually supply bags.

FreshDirect: FreshDirect’s free trial is for its DeliveryPass program. DeliveryPass is unlimited free deliveries while subscribed. Beyond that, FreshDirect does not seem to have any free trial programs. As for service, orders must be $30 or higher and a $5.99 fee per delivery is added on. Fuel surcharge prices are based on the four-week average of gas prices in the United States. Other information, such as bag prices, were not listed on their site.
ConclusionThe relevant information is laid out in the requested spreadsheet. The summary above lists some information and explains some data points as necessary. 

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Online Grocery Comparison - Jet, InstaCart, and Google Express

OVERVIEW

In completing this request, we searched company websites paying particular attention to the FAQ section. We also researched into press releases, company blogs and news articles for information we could not find in the FAQ. All relevant information we found was within the last 24 months. We have included all information found in the spreadsheet. Columns marked N/A on the spreadsheet mean that the company does not offer that service. We have also included short notes in some cells of the spreadsheet for places where we feel that some explanatory notes are required. For example, while Jet.com charges $5.99 for deliveries, they do not charge delivery fees for purchases over $35. Also, Google Express’ charges depend on the store and the cap for minimum purchase varies from store to store.

In general, we found that Jet.com do not offer trials, while InstaCart and Google Express do. There are also no delivery charges for purchases $35 and above for all companies, except for some Google Express stores that place a cap at $25.  Service and delivery charges also vary. Of the three companies, only InstaCart offers membership subscription.

Some notes could not be added to the spreadsheet. Please find details below:

OTHER NOTES
1. InstaCart offers 14 day free trial to new users
2. InstaCart $10 discount is only available in the United States and for users who check out using Google Pay.
3. InstaCart tipping is optional.
4. If a customer cancels their subscription within two weeks, InstaCart makes refunds on a 'pro rata' basis.
5. When Google Express says ‘Free Delivery’ they mean no shipping or service charges but they may charge additional fees for 'restricted items'. 
6. When Jet.com started operations, they used to charge a subscription fee.

CONCLUSION
To wrap up, we have provided research comparing Jet.com, InstaCart, and Google Express and have entered all data appropriately on the spreadsheet. We have also included some additional data under the subheading 'Other Notes' above for information we could not enter into the spreadsheet.