Giant Direct, Powered by Peapod is being touted as a time-saving convenience for customers. The fee-based grocery pickup service debuts at the Hellertown store on Monday, April 22, 2019.
You may have recently noticed changes occurring to a front section of the Giant supermarket in Hellertown; changes that have transformed the area that once housed an outpost of a local bank into a walk-in pantry of sorts, complete with shelves and coolers.
The changes are being undertaken in order to provide shoppers with a new way to get their groceries via something called Giant Direct, Powered by Peapod.
External Communications and Community Relations Manager for Giant Food Stores Ashley Flower confirmed Tuesday that the new fee-based service will be available at the Hellertown store starting Monday, April 22.
How does this new service work?
Customers place their online orders through Peapod–Giant’s online ordering service–or via the Giant website, and they are then gathered within the store and delivered to customer vehicles after they’ve pulled up outside.
A store associate explained that customers will park in a newly-created designated pickup area in front of the store, and call in to tell the Giant Direct staff that they’re there to pick up their groceries.
The area outside the Hellertown Giant that is now cordoned off will soon be the designated parking area for Giant Direct, Powered by Peapod, a new grocery delivery-pickup service.
Promotional materials about Giant Direct, Powered by Peapod that are now available in the store say “You Click, We Pick, Get it Quick” and include a promotional code (GIANTPICKUP90) that allows customers to try the new service for free.
“Save even more on top of already low prices when you use your BONUSCARD or shop our promotions,” the flyer says. “Load digital coupons to save even more! Plus, your pickup fee is free for 90 days after your first order.”
The promotional materials don’t specify what the fees for using Giant Direct are.
A new exterior door leads from the Giant Direct holding area inside the Hellertown store to the parking lot.
“With this new service, our customers will have a more convenient and innovative way to shop,” said Vincent Spaits, store manager at the 301 Town Center Blvd., Easton, Giant Food Store, where Giant Direct, Powered by Peapod was introduced last month.
When placing an order for Giant Direct pickup, customers will need to enter their zip code before they begin shopping, and before checking out, they’ll be asked to select when they would like to pickup their order, the company said.
Giant Direct will also soon be available at stores in Bethlehem, Walnutport and Nazareth, according to a company news release.
The addition of the Giant Direct pickup service is the latest change to come to the Hellertown Giant, which is located at 1880 Leithsville Road (Rt. 412), in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center.
The new area for Giant Direct includes refrigerated cases and shelves for non-perishable items.
Early last year the store reduced its hours from 24 hours a day to 6 to 12 a.m.
Late last year the store opened a Beer & Wine Eatery where customers can purchase a variety of wines and beers to consume in the store or take home.
And early this year, the company introduced a “googly-eyed robot” named Marty whose job it is to alert staff to spills in the aisles of stores.
What do you think of all the recent changes at the Hellertown Giant? Tell us in a comment.