By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

In less than two weeks, Fayette residents will be able to order and have their groceries delivered with a click of the mouse.

Starting May 1, California-based Webvan.com will start servicing Fayette and the rest of metro Atlanta with an on-line store that offers groceries, non-prescription drugs and general merchandise.

The company started servicing the San Francisco market last summer and Atlanta is its second market. The company hopes to be in 26 markets within the next three years.

Webvan is a full-service on-line grocer that provides free delivery on orders over $50 and offers competitive pricing on items, according to a spokesman.

Customers register at webvan.com and can place their orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The customer chooses a 30-minute delivery window and orders are hand-delivered at the chosen time.

Company spokesman Amy Nobile said the company made appearance at this year's Atlanta Home Show and was quite happy with the reaction.

“People were just blown away,” she said.

The distribution center in Suwanee relies heavily on technology, which is where the company saves costs.

“We're cutting out a lot of the middle men,” she said.

Webvan partners with local producers to insure that only the freshest products are delivered to customers' doors, said Nobile.

The company also offers the customer myriad choices. Webvan features more than 350 types of cheeses and 300 varieties of fresh produce.

In deciding to make Atlanta its second market served, Webvan looked at recent statistics on Internet use in the region. A Wall Street Journal survey shows Atlantans had the second highest percentage of adults making purchases on the Internet in the last three months.

For information check out webvan.com.

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