Mercato directly competes with AmazonFresh

The e-commerce platform for independent grocers now offers a same-day delivery program.

Mercato is launching Mercato Green, a delivery membership program that enables consumers in more than 25 states to receive unlimited free, same-day deliveries from participating local grocers. Mercato will also plant a tree for every order placed by a Mercato Green member.

There are two Mercato Green membership plans, which both come with a 14-day free, unlimited trial. The Neighborhood plan, with an $8 monthly fee, covers deliveries up to three miles from the store. The City plan, with a $23 monthly fee, covers up to 10 miles. Mercato says products are typically delivered within an hour or two. DoorDash serves as Mercato’s preferred same-day delivery partner.

The Mercato website provides an online storefront where consumers can select delivery items including meat and fish, produce, bakery items, prepared foods, and pantry staples. Mercato also offers participating retailers white-label options as well as weekly circular and real-time inventory management through an application programming interface (API).

 “We’re making local grocery delivery more accessible to everyone,” said Mercato Founder and CEO Bobby Brannigan. “We all lead busy lives and time is often our most constrained resource. A simple trip to the grocery store can take an hour, or more, and many people go multiple times a week. Mercato Green helps reduce the time people spend on grocery shopping and increases access to these great stores. Since the monthly cost of the program is around the price of a single grocery delivery, it’s a great value as well.”

In contrast, AmazonFresh costs $14.99 per month as an add-on to Amazon Prime membership, which carries a fee of $12.99 per month or $119 per year. The first 30 days of Prime are free. AmazonFresh guarantees a one-to-two-hour delivery window.