Grubhub to deliver Rite Aid products in 16 states

Dive Brief:

Grubhub will offer Rite Aid products for delivery on Gruhbub Marketplace. The partnership with the drugstore chain spans 2,000 stores in 16 states, the companies announced Thursday.
The Rite Aid deal marks Grubhub’s first national drugstore partnership, according to the press release. The partnership builds on a similar deal with GoPuff announced last month.
In a race for profitability and market share, major delivery companies have been entering new market verticals, adding marketing features and acquiring smaller competitors over the last couple years.

Dive Insight:

Grubhub said drugstore goods would do well on delivery services as customers are less likely to travel and more likely to order delivery when sick. Roughly 47% of customers wouldn’t want to visit a drugstore while ill, and 67% would want to order over-the-counter medicine from a delivery service, according to a survey conducted by Grubhub.

“This partnership could not come at a better time as we head into the winter months when delivery becomes an even more important way for people to get what they need,” Ariella Kurshan, senior vice president of growth at Grubhub, said in a statement.

Grubhub’s national market share has lagged since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg Second Measure. This lackluster growth relative to DoorDash and Uber Eats may be pressuring the company to enter new verticals, as its competitors have done over the last year or two. Uber Eats and DoorDash began working with Rite Aid in 2021.

The company has responded to this competition by increasing the types of goods on offer. Grubhub launched Grubhub Goods earlier this year to provide convenience store items from 7-Eleven nationwide. In July, Grubhub and Amazon offered a year of Grubhub+ free to Amazon Prime members. In August, Grubhub offered a free year of its premium program to Bank of America cardholders. The company has also focused on growing college campus delivery, debuting autonomous robots at several campuses in recent months.

According to Grubhub, customers who order delivery from c-stores are more likely to order from restaurants, making them valuable as repeat customers.