Midwestern Independent Grocer Fareway Stores to Test Ecommerce Program

One of the Midwest's larger independent grocers is dipping its toes into the grocery ecommerce waters, the Des Moines Register has reported.

Fareway Stores is planning to begin testing the service in the near future, although it hasn't determined specifics yet. The Boone, Iowa-based grocer still must decide exactly what the service will offer, whether it will include both click-and-collect and delivery or just one option, and when it will launch.

The company also is considering turning a shuttering store in Des Moines into an ecommerce fulfillment center. The old store is being replaced by a newer location 3 miles away.

Fareway already operates an ecommerce service for meat. FarewayMeatMarket.com ships meat to 48 states from a distribution center in the grocer's hometown.

Fareway Stores operates 122 independent grocery stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company is No. 47 on Progressive Grocer's 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.