Another grocery store just added curbside pickup in South Florida. Shoppers can compare

A few dozen Winn-Dixie stores in South Florida and the Keys give you a reason to avoid going through the front doors and strolling the aisles to shop for groceries.

Southeastern Grocers, parent company of the Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie, wants your business, of course. The chain just wants to give customers another option to fill their pantries.

Southeastern Grocers announced this week that it has expanded its online shopping service to include curbside pickup options in nearly 300 Winn-Dixie stores and Harveys Supermarket locations throughout Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Of these, about 40, more than a tenth of the participating stores, are in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties, according to the chain’s spokeswoman Meredith Hurley.

Many competitors like Publix, Sedano’s and Walmart also offer online shopping with curbside pickup as an option, with one chain’s notable exception.

The new Winn-Dixie service is an extension of a delivery service that grew during the COVID era that began three years ago. That delivery service let customers order online and have their groceries delivered to their homes for a fee by vendors including DoorDash, Instacart and Shipt.

Delivery is still an option. But curbside lets you place an order online and then pick it up at a selected scheduled time in a store’s parking lot at a marked place and take advantage of sales prices, promos and other deals in-store shoppers receive. You don’t have to leave your car to go inside the store.

“Winn-Dixie has participated in third-party services for several years, but these delivery services did not reflect the same great offers and pricing available to in-store shoppers. By utilizing Winn-Dixie’s new online shopping feature, we are excited to offer our customers the same great prices, deals and rewards as shopping in store with the luxury of shopping from anywhere with curbside pickup or delivery in as little as two hours,” said Meredith Hurley, Southeastern Grocers’ senior director of communications and community.

How does curbside pickup work?

Visit the site: Customers can use the Winn-Dixie or Harveys new curbside pickup by visiting www.shop.winndixie.com. Select a store. Choose curbside pickup and shop via the chains’ app or website. Select a 30-minute pick up window that fits your schedule.

Text message: Customers who opt for curbside pickup will get a text message with a link that they can use to let the store team know when they are en route to pick up their order at a selected time.

Designated spot: Pull up into one of the parking lot’s designated pickup spots. A Winn-Dixie associate will bring out the order, according to the company.

How much is curbside pickup?

Cost: Winn-Dixie and Harveys’ curbside pickup fee is $1.99. Delivery to your home is $9 in about two hours.

Donation: To promote its new service, for every order placed through the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket websites on Friday, Feb. 17, the company said it would donate $10 to local food bank partners.

What hours can you use curbside pickup?

From when to when: Curbside pickup hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The beginning of the last time slot will be 7:30 p.m. Delivery hours, by comparison, are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the beginning of the last time slot is 9 p.m.

Alcohol orders: Orders featuring alcohol items could see varied hour options depending on the store’s location.

What if the time slot you prefer is full?

Window: Pick another time window if your first choice is full.

Is there a minimum order to use curbside pickup?

No limit: There is no minimum order to use the curbside pickup service. You can order as little or as much as you want.

How do you pay?

Credit cards and benefits: Winn-Dixie and Harveys accept most major credit cards. But at this time customers who use government benefit programs like SNAP, EBT or WIC can not use these payment methods for online orders, according to the company.

How long in advance can you schedule a pickup?

Advance orders: Online orders can be made up to three days in advance.

Can you add your prescription drugs to your order?

Pharmacy orders: Prescriptions can’t be added to these curbside or delivery orders. Prescriptions have a separate delivery or curbside program at www.winndixie.com/pharmacy/rx-delivery.

What if you’re running late?

What to do: Miami area traffic can be one of Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell. If you are not able to arrive at the store during your 30-minute time slot, contact your selected curbside pickup store. Someone there may be able to help you cancel the order or arrange another time for pick up. What if the store is late? Contact the selected curbside pickup store.

What about Fresco y Más?

Southeastern Grocers also owns Fresco y Más. The same expanded curbside pickup option available at Winn-Dixie and Harveys will come to Fresco y Más later in 2023, the company said.

What about Publix and other grocers?

▪ Publix offers curbside pickup and delivery. Aldi offers curbside pickup.

▪ Sedano’s, Whole Food’s Market, Walmart, Sprouts Farmers Market and Milam’s Markets also offer curbside pickup and delivery.

▪ Walgreens has curbside pickup. CVS has in-store pickup. Kroger has curbside pickup but not in Florida because its recent entry into the Sunshine State in 2022 is a delivery-only option. Kroger doesn’t have brick-and-mortar stores in Florida.

READ MORE: Hate grocery shopping? Let Sedano’s new robot do it for you

▪ Trader Joe’s does not offer online shopping so that means no curbside or delivery service because the company determined such services can’t match what they say they offer inside its stores. “We set up our stores with care, finding just the right crew and creating a rewarding shopping experience, full of discovery and welcome,” Trader Joe’s says on its website. Could it also be that most Trader Joe’s parking lots are traditionally smaller than the bigger chains’ parking lots that have room for designated spaces?