IRVING, Texas — 7-Eleven Inc. is leading the charge of convenience-store chains that have boosted their delivery services as in-store visits lag during the coronavirus pandemic.
On the heels of becoming Instacart’s first c-store partner in September, 7-Eleven has now added Uber Eats and Grubhub to its delivery roster. Other delivery services that offer 7-Eleven products include Postmates, DoorDash, Google Food Order, and Favor (only in Texas).
Users of these platforms have access to thousands of products found on 7-Eleven shelves, ranging from milk and eggs to pizza, Slurpee drinks, sandwiches and more. Together with these platforms, 7-Eleven now offers on-demand ordering to more than 90% of its footprint.
"When 7-Eleven began offering delivery in 2017, we certainly didn't foresee a pandemic accelerating on-demand ordering platforms from convenient to essential," said Chris Tanco, COO for 7-Eleven. "This year we've doubled our delivery footprint and quadrupled our daily delivery orders because customers know they can count on us for their necessities in about 30 minutes. We look forward to continuing to respond as our customers' shopping behaviors rapidly change."
Besides these services, customers can also order products for delivery through 7-Eleven’s 7Now delivery app, which serves more than 60 million households in about 1,300 U.S. cities. Products available through the app include fresh and hot foods, household items, groceries, pantry needs, over-the-counter medicine, snacks, sweet treats and more. 7Now orders are delivered in about 30 minutes and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can specify "contactless delivery" when ordering and can use real-time tracking to know when to expect their orders.
"Our customers crave convenience now more than ever," said Raghu Mahadevan, vice president of digital and head of delivery for 7-Eleven. "Today, that may mean ordering in more frequently because they're staying home and avoiding crowds. But it could also mean delivering Slurpee drinks to the beach or ice to a socially distanced backyard barbecue. These extraordinary times have accelerated our efforts to get the products to our customers as safely as possible."
Grubhub, Uber Eats, Instacart, DoorDash, and Postmates are all app-based platforms that can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Shoppers also can access the delivery platforms by visiting their websites. Shoppers simply download or access their preferred app, search and select 7-Eleven from the list of retailers, click on products to order and pay in the app.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP's 2020 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by size.
Based in Irving, Texas, 7–Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 71,100 7-Eleven c-stores in 17 countries, including more than 9,300 in the United States.
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