Coop's e-store customers were recently met with a notification that stated that the minimum order limit for home deliveries is now €30 and it is €15 when ordering to a "food box". While the latter will be free delivery, home deliveries will cost somewhere between €2.50-4.50.

Coop communication manager Martin Miido said new prices were implemented from January 6. The variety in transport prices depends on the customer's location, meaning how far the delivery address is from Coop's central warehouse in Laagri. Transport fees will be included in any case, despite the shopping basket's size.

"It is not a profitable service, which is why we needed to establish service fees. When we entered the market, the goal was to introduce the service, but there continue to be people making so-called ice cream orders. The home delivery shopping basket did not have a minimum limit at first to introduce the service, but it needs no introduction any more, it is popular, but we cannot allow people to order in one ice cream. It is unreasonable in every sense," Miido said.

Customers noticed this week, however, that delivery times have also taken a hit. When putting in an order in the morning, it is unlikely to arrive that same evening, even though that was the case earlier.

Miido said the spread of the coronavirus is to blame. "Any time the coronavirus spread increases, the e-store delivery times get longer, because people put in more orders. We have seen it consistently over the last two years," the Coop spokesperson said.

Maxima's Barbora home delivery service also has a minimum order requirement at €20. Barbora's home delivery prices depend on the cost of the shopping basket, however.

"Orders worth more than €49.90 have free delivery. A shopping basket at €20 has a delivery price of €1.99, which is the lowest on the e-store delivery market," said Barbora CEO Kirke Pentikäinen.

Delivery fees have not changed over the last year, Pentikäinen added, noting that the company has also increased its delivery capacities. "A delivery will be made on the same day or the next at the latest," she said.

e-Selver's delivery conditions have also not changed and there are no plans to do so in the near future, Selver's communication director Rivo Veski confirmed. The company has not established a minimum shopping basket requirement, but their transport fees are the highest among service providers.

"Estonia's only nationwide home delivery e-store does not have a minimum purchase limit. You can order the cheapest product on our e-store and we will bring it to you. The general home delivery price is €4.90, which is valid for all clients - from Narva to Kuressaare, Kõpu to Vastseliina," Veski said.

The e-Selver representative said the company promises to bring people their morning orders by the evening. "In regions with less delivery days in a week, we will deliver the groceries in the morning following the delivery break," he said.

Prisma's home delivery service also does not have a minimum delivery requirement and deliveries depend on the customer's location, averaging around €3. When ordering to a parcel machine, the cost is €3.50.

"Deliveries to the food package robot at the Prisma in Tiskre will be free in the first half of 2022," Prisma e-store director Sven-Erik Veimer noted, adding that clients are also provided free delivery coupons from time to time.

The company is not planning on increasing prices anytime soon. "We are rather looking for ways to offer even cheaper deliveries for our clients," Veimer noted. He said the company tries to deliver groceries on the same day if an order is made in the morning, but that is usually not possible in further regions, such as Pärnu, Viljandi or Saaremaa.

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