Help Me Hank tests grocery delivery services amid pandemic

DETROIT – A normal trip to the supermarket likely looks much different now amid the coronavirus outbreak and shopping online isn’t much easier.

Online shopping for groceries is more of a challenge than ever before. Stores have limited resources, drivers and delivery options.

So, what works and what doesn’t?

Local 4′s consumer investigator Hank Winchester put Shipt, Instacart and Amazon Prime to the test in 2019 and were shocked at how quickly the groceries arrived.

Times have changed and while local stores are doing their best, it’s hard to keep up with the enormous demand.

RELATED: Help Me Hank: Some staples, essentials still tough to find in grocery stores

Winchester had some success with Shipt, but when trying to purchase groceries through Target or Meijer, he was told there were no available time slots for the next 48 hours. It’s not a time-of-day issue and you have to get on multiple times a day to place an order. It’s luck-of-the-draw.

Kroger showed no delivery times available.

Walmart has a new delivery service that Winchester and his family had success with.

Another deliver service, Mercato, was able to delivery groceries next-day-guaranteed on orders up to $21 depending on what store you purchase from.

For a complete list of how stores, restaurants and other businesses are adapting to help residents, visit the Help Me Hank resource guide here.


About the Authors:

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.