Amazon and Bashas’ have launched a grocery delivery and pickup service at stores in Phoenix, Tempe, Tucson and Scottsdale.

Customers can shop for approximately 15,000 Bashas’ grocery items — fresh produce, bakery items, deli and everyday essentials — at amazon.com/bashas and via the Amazon shopping app. Same-day delivery and pickup are available at these Bashas’ locations: 5555 N. Seventh St., Phoenix; 1761 E. Warner Rd., Tempe; 10111 E. Bell Rd., Scottsdale; and 2000 W. River Rd., Tucson. 

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The experience mirrors the direct Bashas’ experience, according to Zac Wilson, vice president of digital commerce for The Raley’s Companies. Bashas’ is a division of The Raley’s Companies. 

The orders are submitted through Amazon, but Bashas’ employees will pick the items. The products then go to an Amazon Flex driver for delivery, he said. Tobacco, weapons, explosive items, flammable liquids and toxic chemicals are among the exclusions. 

“Centralizing the volume makes it better from a quality standpoint and in a stock standpoint,” Wilson said. “We can create a better ordering and e-commerce experience. It’s a great opportunity for our loyal Bashas’ customers to leverage a platform that they’re already using. They can get their products that they buy from us faster.” 

Currently, the turnaround time is two hours, with an eventual goal of one hour. 

This launch marks Amazon’s first third-party grocery collaboration in Arizona. This service complements Amazon’s existing grocery offerings from Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market.

“We’re excited to bring Bashas’ to Amazon, giving customers in the Phoenix and Tucson areas a new way to shop their trusted neighborhood grocer with the convenience they expect from Amazon,” said Sophie Turrell, Amazon’s director of U.S. grocery partnerships.

“Bashas’ has been a part of Arizona communities for over 90 years, and this collaboration makes it even easier for customers to access the fresh, quality products they love — whether delivered to their door or picked up at their local store.”

Wilson said the demand for the pickup and delivery of groceries increased during the pandemic. Slowly, customers have become more trustworthy of others picking their fresh products, he added.

Despite that trend, 85% of customers are still walking through grocery stores’ doors, Wilson stated.

“We want our customers to know that the experience that they get from online shopping with Amazon is still driven through Bashas’,” he said. “We want to keep that standard as much as we can. We want to maintain that trust and reliability with our customers who have known the Bashas’ name for generations.”

The plan is to expand to other Bashas’ locations and those of its sister company Food City. 

“The goal right now is to make sure we know, operationally, that we’re executing everything to a high level,” Wilson explained. 

“When we do move to a different Bashas’ or expand out our geographical territory, we’re meeting the customers’ expectation.”