Amid concerns over the growing COVID-19 virus, customer demand for no-contact delivery of their groceries has increased dramatically in recent days. Two prominent grocery delivery companies, Postmates and Instacart, have added a feature for customers that allows them to choose to have groceries dropped off without meeting the delivery person face-to-face.
With recent software updates, customers will have additional drop-off options that allow them to choose to either meet the courier as usual, pick up curbside or have the delivery person leave it at the door without any personal contact.
Postmates said in an online post that states their reason for adding the functionality to their app. They acknowledged that some customers had health concerns, and they felt that the new functionality would give customers the experience they desired. They didn’t mention the impact on the peace of mind for the delivery people, but this had to be a positive outcome for them as well.
Instacart, a company that delivers groceries and other essential products for the household, has added a no-contact option on their app. The company posted a statement online that describes the “leave at my door” option, and they mentioned that the feature had been in a testing phase for several months prior to this recent launch. Given the recent increase in demand for the option, the company said that it launched the feature ahead of schedule. Neither Instacart nor Postmates named the COVID-19 virus specifically when mentioning the health concerns of their customers.
The new option provided by Instacart was originally planned for people who weren’t at home when the deliveries arrived. The company found that people were using the feature during testing for other reasons, such as being unable to get to the door while occupied with a baby or other situations.
Food delivery has become a vital part of society in China where millions of people are in lockdown inside their homes. For quarantined people, food deliveries are essential for survival. It is unclear how the situation will play out in the US or other countries, but these no-contact deliveries are going to provide a sense of safety for people who are concerned about the outbreak.
Further Reading: https://www.grubstreet.com/2020/03/companies-introduce-no-contact-delivery-amidst-coronavirus.html
Dil Bole Oberoi
