Walmart, Trader Joe's, ALDI, and More Are Now Joined Together Through This
Delivery services like Instacart and GoPuff were considered the 'future of grocery shopping' when they first came on the scene now about 10 years ago. The convenience they offer quickly gained momentum and, with a well-timed boost from the pandemic, have become standard practice in many households.
Now, an Arkansas-based startup is taking the idea a step further. EasyBins allows users to not only shop across multiple grocery chains at once, but then also packages up all selections into one tidy, temperature-controlled box delivered right to the front door. This means consumers' multi-stop Sunday errands to stores like Walmart, Target, and ALDI can be condensed into one efficient online experience.
In order to compile orders this way, the company uses a slightly different approach from the personal shopping system adopted by other competitors.
EasyBins employees are assigned to a specific grocery store and gather items from multiple orders at one time. They then transport the products to a nearby facility where items from all stores merge into one box and are loaded onto trucks for delivery.
"If you look under the hood, our business looks a bit more like FedEx than Instacart," EasyBins founder and CEO James Farmer explained to GroceryDive.
EasyBins is also unique in that it charges no delivery fees and has no order minimum. But, delivery times are limited with just two options at either 5 a.m. or 6 p.m.
Within the online platform, shoppers can browse by product type or choose to limit their search to just one specific storefront. Top grocers including Walmart, Sam's Club, Kroger, Whole Foods, Target, and even Trader Joe's can be shopped through EasyBins, although no existing partnerships are in place.
After an initial launch in northwest Arkansas, the service has also moved into regions of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado and is hyper focused on reaching suburban families in these areas.
To get all the latest grocery store news delivered right to your email inbox every day, sign up for our newsletter!
"Our target market is dual income [families with] kids. Mom and dad are both working and tend to be away from the home anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day," said Farmer.
Consumers in additional central states and even in the midwest may start to see the recognizable black boxes in their neighborhoods as EasyBins continues with its rapid expansion plan–Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee are next on the list to tackle. However, Farmer made it clear the company has no intentions to grow into the saturated markets of the coasts where there is already "a lot of noise".
