November 07, 2017
Shopping at Reading Terminal Market for all of your Thanksgiving fixings may have just become a little more convenient.
The vast farmers market at 12th and Arch streets announced that customers can shop the market online this year.
The experiment comes in conjunction with a recent overhaul of the market's website.
Here's how the service will work, per the site:
• Browse and add offerings from nearly 20 vendors selling meat, seafood, bread, cheese, produce, spices, coffee, loose-leaf tea and other goods
• At checkout, set a preferred pickup time for at least one hour after placing the order
• After your order is confirmed, the market will pick out your items
• All of your groceries will be stored in our designated fridge, freezer or dry storage unit.
• If there are items that you selected but are not available, you will be notified at pickup and refunded.
• A "shipping confirmation" will tell you that your order is ready
• When you're 10 minutes away, call the market and an employee will direct you to the pickup location at 11th and Arch
• An employee will then meet you curbside with your groceries
For now, the service is only a test for the Thanksgiving season. But if it goes well, the system could be expanded and become a permanent option, RTM General Manager Anuj Gupta told Billy Penn.
"We hope this proves that there is demand," Gupta said. "If there is, we will make an investment in building a robust system that represents the entire Market shopping/dining experience."
The revamped website also includes an interactive map of its vendors, dining area and restrooms, and the market also announced that dozens of vendors would expand their Sunday hours to be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A list of those vendors can be found here.
