*By Amanda Weston*
Grocery chain Kroger launched a new delivery service Wednesday to compete with industry giants Amazon and Walmart.
[Kroger Ship](https://ship.kroger.com/) offers more than 50,000 products to online shoppers in Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, and Nashville. The chain aims to lure new customers with curated options, free shipping for orders over $35, and discounts.
Online shopping accounts for about 2 percent of the American food-and-beverage market, but it's rapidly expanding.
"When you look at all these new channels in the industry, they are growing extremely, extremely fast," Yael Cosset, Kroger's chief digital officer, said Thursday in an interview with Cheddar.
This isn't Kroger's first attempt at online delivery. The grocery chain has offered delivery service from almost half its 2,800 stories through Instacart.
The new service represents the chain's ambition to make shopping easier for its customers ー and help keep its brick and mortar businesses stable.
"The direct interaction with some of the fresh assortment ー produce, meat, seafood, cheese ー experiential engagement is still very important to them," he said. "They do, however, still want the convenience and simplicity that a digital engagement can offer."
Kroger is going up against Amazon, a formidable competitor, [which sold](https://www.wsj.com/articles/kroger-to-launch-grocery-delivery-service-1533117720) about $650 million worth of food items in the second quarter, up 40 percent from 2017.
As for Kroger Ship's future, Cosset said digital partnerships will also play a major role in growth.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/kroger-introduces-kroger-ship-delivery-service).
At least 2 percent of American children are being raised by their grandparents, an arrangement that already has unique challenges for such families, but the COVID-19 pandemic is adding even more obstacles to contend with.
Jill and Carlo discuss the optimist's case for the pandemic -- it's not all bad news! Plus, Prime Day, iPhone announcement, a major shift by Disney and more.
Facebook says it is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they search for information about the Nazi genocide.
With three weeks until the election, a battle for the Supreme Court kicks off, the president gets back on the trail -- all as COVID cases keep rising. Plus, the Lakers and NBA show how it's done.
Singer Ricky Martin and music engineer, Michael Seaberg, joined Cheddar to discuss the launch of a new digital entertainment company. The company is focusing on "orbital audio" technology that enhances the listening experience.
A 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold at Christie's Auction House for a record-shattering $31.8 million. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello takes a look into the sale of the massive complete fossil and Christie's virtual auction process.
We made it to Friday in another wild news week. The latest on the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, the status of the next debate, a major hurricane landfall and more.
The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger in regions facing conflict and hardship and at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has driven millions more people to the brink of starvation.
Jill and Carlo talk takeaways from the relatively normal veep debate, the growing sense that we're entering the so-called second wave, and more.
This year, New York Comic Con is taking a new look in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Kristina Rogers, event director for Metaverse and New York Comic Con, joined Cheddar to give us the inside scoop.
