Earlier this week, Trader Joe's announced it will be ending its delivery program. Yes, you read that correctly. Trader Joe's had a delivery service.
According to Business Insider, Trader Joe's has offered grocery delivery from its Manhattan-based stores for over 10 years. Now, however, TJ's has decided to bring the program to an end. This decision comes during a time when many retail chains like Whole Foods, Target, and Costco are sinking more money than ever into their own delivery programs, but apparently, this trend is not enough to make Trader Joe's do the same at the expense of keeping its products especially affordable, which is one of the greatest draws for regular customers.
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"In all that we do, our priority is always to provide our customers value in the form of great quality products for great everyday prices. That is what we are all about. Because of escalating service costs, how our stores are set up, and our relentless commitment to providing our customers value, continuing to offer delivery in the manner we have, no longer makes sense," a Trader Joe's representative told Refinery29 in an email.
Though it makes sense that many people outside of New York City were unaware that Manhattan Trader Joe's locations offered delivery, based on tweets that were shared following the news that the service would be discontinued, many New Yorkers were also oblivious to its existence. Still, Trader Joe's insists that the decision to end its delivery program will impact many of its Manhattan-based shoppers. "We recognize that this decision may represent a challenge to customers who have been using the service and we want to assure them that we are always evaluating how we do things, with them, our customers, being top of mind," said the Trader Joe's rep.
The opportunity for customers in Manhattan to have their Trader Joe's purchases delivered to their home will officially expire in March, but it may not be the end of grocery shopping innovations for the chain. The rep explained, Trader Joe's "will continue to consider options to support [customers'] shopping, in a way that will also allow us to maintain our commitment of value."