Mercadona continues to consolidate its online shopping project with the opening of a second Hive in the Community of Madrid, in the town of Boadilla del Monte; although smaller than the existing Hives, it will reinforce the service provided by the Hive in Getafe, opened in 2020.

It has received investment of over 13.2 million euros and will have a staff of 150 people. Initially, it will serve the areas of Boadilla del Monte, Alcorcón and Villaviciosa de Odón, before its service are gradually rolled out to other areas of the Community of Madrid like Leganés, Parla and Tres Cantos. All customers who receive their shopping in these new areas will have access to the new, intuitive online shop through the website or the app; this option offers delivery from 7 am to 10 pm, divided into 2 hour time bands, from Monday to Saturday. Additionally, the service continues to improve and "Ready-to-Eat" products like Spanish omelette and potato salad are now available online.

Mercadona Online's Managing Director, Juana Roig, highlighted that "with this Hive in Boadilla del Monte, we are offering the new online shopping option to more customers in the Community of Madrid, which is one of our main markets. We are continuing to work towards the maximum number of customers possible being able to shop online with Mercadona simply and conveniently, in addition to creating a sustainable business in the long-term.”

Growth of Mercadona's online project

This Hive joins those Mercadona has already established in Valencia, Barcelona, Getafe (Madrid), Alicante and Seville with which the company has continued to reinforce its online shopping service in Spain, a project that continues to grow and which currently employs 2,700 people. In 2022, Mercadona's online channel recorded turnover of 540 million euros, 20% still from the old website and 80% from the new system with a new website and app.

Mercadona has different sales models based on the demand for orders in each town. On the one hand, the “Hive” model serves areas with a high density of online orders. On the other hand, areas with a lower concentration of orders are served with an individual store preparation and delivery model. This model is present in various cities such as Zaragoza, cities in the Basque Country, Tarragona, Castellón and Almería, for example.

Sustainability and efficiency in the online service

As part of the company's commitment to the environment, the new online stores include elements that considerably reduce their energy consumption, including but not limited to solar panels and special insulation for the cold storage area. At the same time, the 600 vehicles used for online deliveries - 40 of which are based at the new Hive at which operations are launching today in Madrid - have the eco label as they are mild hybrid and gas-powered delivery vans which have required investment of over 28 million euros. Additionally, in the case of the Boadilla del Monte Hive, there are other new developments, such as the use of lithium batteries in order preparation forklift trucks.

Mercadona online remains committed to its technological talent, people who work on the development and optimisation of both its processes and software for the sale, preparation and delivery of its online orders in Hives and stores. One example of this is the continued growth of its human team, this time with the expansion of its offices in Madrid.

Elena, Hive employee with a ring scanner and guide mobile preparing online orders.

Iván, Hive worker with a forklift truck preparing various online orders at the same time.

View of the Boadilla del Monte Hive (Madrid).