Safeway.com begins serving the Seattle metro area

Safeway Inc.`s Safeway.com has expanded to the Seattle metropolitan area, invading the area where rival Albertsons Inc. proved to itself that consumers would shop online. Safeway’s expansion brings to eight the number of major markets it serves in the western U.S. Safeway.com and its sister operation, Vons.com, now serve consumers in 919 Zip Codes in 368 communities in Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. The sites report a combined current base of 315,000 registered customers.

With its Seattle area service covering 1 million households and a population of 2.6 million, Safeway`s online grocery operation now covers 9.7 million households and 27.3 million people, or 9.4% of the U.S. population.

The Seattle market includes 34 communities in three counties, where online orders will be filled from local Safeway supermarkets. When Safeway opens a sixth supermarket in Seattle next month, Safeway.com will serve 115 Zip Codes in the Seattle area.

To promote its Seattle launch, Safeway.com is offering a special delivery charge of $6.95, 30% off its usual $9.95 fee.