And Centene-owned insurer WellCare began offering select members free memberships with same-day grocery delivery service Shipt. Startups Addressing SDOH via Health Tech. Digital health startups are powering SDOH initiatives and serving as standalone, SDOH-focused hubs—which can help healthcare incumbents build out and manage a robust ecosystem of partnered organizations.

With the US rapidly approaching the one-year anniversary of its pandemic shutdowns, consumers have had time to hone their new habits, such as making purchases on the likes of Instacart, FreshDirect, Shipt, Cornershop, Postmates, and Blue Apron. According to an October 2020 study by Acosta, 58% of US grocery shoppers reported being comfortable using digital tools to assist with grocery shopping.

Pandemic conditions also improved during this period compared with last year, which may account for the deceleration in Target’s same-day digital services (order pickup, Shipt, and curbside pickup): The metric grew 90% YoY in Q1 2021, down from the 278% surge it posted last year.

From there, Target uses technology from Grand Junction and Deliv to group packages by the most efficient delivery routes, which are then picked up by Shipt workers for same-day delivery. Walmart invested in self-driving vehicle delivery startup Cruise. The San Francisco-based startup operates a fleet of electric self-driving cars.

Target is also investing in the digital grocery sector with Shipt, which delivers products from Target and other retail partners. At a virtual investor day in March 2021, Target announced that it will invest billions of dollars over several years to more efficiently fulfill online orders, and it also plans to open five new warehouses in major urban hubs in 2021.

The returns process has always been a hassle for many shoppers—particularly the task of having to ship something back. Amid the pandemic, these pain points are just as prevalent, if not more so.

2020 was a tumultuous year to say the least, but as the adage goes, in crisis there is opportunity. This idea is literally embedded in the Chinese word for “crisis” (危机): Its second character means opportunity. China’s populace appeared to have embodied that spirit. In a challenging year, entrepreneurs and regulators alike worked together to steady the ship and found ways to restore some normalcy through resilience, digital innovations, and timely policies.

Separate data covering the first week of March from meal-planning service eMeals shows week-over-week increases (as high as 67%) in the number of orders submitted to its grocery partners, including Amazon, Instacart, Kroger, Shipt and Walmart.

Last year, the number of locations offering “buy online, pick up in-store” (BOPUS) nearly doubled among leading US grocery retailers. Walmart (and various third-party partners), Target/Shipt, Kroger/Instacart, Ahold and Albertsons brought their collective number of click-and-collect locations from 2,451 in January 2018 to 5,800 in December 2018, per data from CommonSense Robotics.