Instacart to service PriceRite stores in PA's Lehigh Valley

PriceRite Supermarkets announced yesterday that it is expanding its partnership with Instacart to include the Lehigh Valley, where the grocer has two stores - one each in Allentown and Bethlehem. Instacart already operates in the Lehigh Valley, where about 206,000 households can shop online at Wegmans, Whole Foods and Costco, and have their purchases delivered to them for a fee.

Instacart is already offered at many PriceRite locations in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Center to be anchored by Costco, Target and Whole Foods under construction in Lehigh Valley

Construction began last month for Hamilton Crossings, the Trexlertown, PA retail center that plans to include Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom's Rack, Dick's and PetSmart, among others. In all, developers Tim Harrison and the Goldenberg Group expect the center to include 33 retailers. The projected opening date is in July, 2016.

Peapod now available in Harrisburg and York PA market

Ahold (Giant) announced last month that Peapod, its online grocery ordering and delivery service, is now available in the Harrisburg and York, PA markets. The area is serviced by a new fulfillment center in Camp Hill, PA.

Peapod allows customers to create personal lists, read nutritional information and sort products by price. Customers can earn Giant Gas Rewards, and groceries can be delivered the day after an order has been placed.

Peapod began service to the Philadelphia community in 2011 and has been expanding throughout the PA and NJ suburbs ever since. Last year Peapod began servicing the Lehigh Valley.

Peapod expands to Lehigh Valley

Peapod announced yesterday that it has introduced its home and business delivery service to parts of Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania. Peapod delivery is now available in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and several other area communities.

Peapod is a division of Ahold USA (Giant Food), and now offers its service to over 15 million households in the Northeast.

Weis opens large, green supermarket in Fogelsville

Weis Markets opened its newest store earlier this month in Fogelsville, and at 65,800 square feet it's the company's largest in the Lehigh Valley. It is also expected to be the Valley's first grocery store to be LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

According to Weis, the store will use approximately 22 percent less electricity than a typical grocery store, and 60 percent fewer refrigerant emissions.

The store's 35-seat cafe offers beer that customers can drink with their meal or take home.

The largest supermarket in the Lehigh Valley is the 74,000 square foot Giant that opened last December.

Bottom Dollar confirms 14 stores for Pittsburgh

Rumors have swirled about Bottom Dollar's expansion to Pittsburgh (see my July 11 blog post: Bottom Dollar planning at least 9 stores in Pittsburgh), and now Delhaize America has confirmed it, according to a report in the Supermarket News. Bottom Dollar said 14 stores will open in the Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio markets, and approximately 600 jobs will be created.

The store, founded in 2005 in North Carolina, now has 47 locations in five states. The Greater Philadelphia market (including the Lehigh Valley) currently has 16 stores, 14 of which are in Pennsylvania.

The Lehigh Valley grocery scene continues to evolve

One might think that a drive up north to the Lehigh Valley would alleviate the grocery schizophrenia we experience in the Philadelphia market. Not so. Apparently, Lehigh Valley consumers need a scorecard - not to mention a pencil with a good eraser - to keep track of the industry players and their comings and goings.

Coming:

• Bottom Dollar currently has four locations in The Valley, and may have as many as seven in the next year.
• Weis Markets has increased its budget for adding and updating stores, according to a company spokesperson. The grocer currently has 14 locations in The Valley and will soon have 16, second only to Giant.
• Giant, with 17 locations in The Valley, has been spending money on renovations at a number of area stores.
• A ShopRite is proposed in Trexlertown, along with a Target and BJ's. 
• Walmart is a major player in the area, of course, and the Whitehall location will soon become a Supercenter and include a full-service grocery store.
• Three of the four Target stores in The Valley include a Fresh Grocery section.
• Dollar stores and drug stores continue to expand their grocery selections.

Going:

• Pathmark shut its location in Lower Saucon, which is causing residents and reporters to speculate as to who will take over the space.
• Wine kiosks - Wegmans is pulling PLCB wine kiosks from all its Pennsylvania stores, including Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, the three major cities in the Lehigh Valley (also known as A-B-E).

As always, I'm afraid something may have changed since I started writing this blog post.