Dive Brief:

• Coborn’s announced Thursday it is now offering its workers the ability to collect their pay as they earn it through a partnership between the grocery company and DailyPay. 
• The new offering also allows employees flexibility with paying bills, spending, saving and investing, per the announcement. 
• The Midwestern grocer is rolling out the option at a time when food retailers are taking hiring and payment cues from the gig economy and looking for ways to give their workers more control over their earnings.

Dive Insight:

Coborn's partnership with DailyPay follows the grocer's acquisition of Upper Midwestern grocery chain Tadych’s Econofoods, which expanded its workforce.

That deal, which closed at the end of last year, grew Coborn's store count by roughly 10%, and Coborn's said at the time the acquisition plans were announced that it would hire all of Tadych's approximately 800 employees. Now, the grocery company has nearly 9,300 employees and 66 grocery stores across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan. 

Dave Meyer, president and chief operating officer for Coborn's, said in a statement that DailyPay is an "important enhancement" to the grocer's benefits package against the backdrop of a difficult hiring landscape. 

"We have been very impressed with the adoption rate at which our employees are taking advantage of this new program," Meyer said. 

DailyPay already works with several companies, including Kroger, Dollar Tree, Berkshire Hathaway, and staffing and recruiting firm Adecco. Companies can use DailyPay as part of a financial wellness benefits package, which helps workers steer clear of payday loans and overdraft fees, according to Coborn's announcement. 

Other companies in the grocery industry have turned to instant pay programs as well. Last spring, Kroger said it rushed out on-demand pay for earned wages when the pandemic hit to help its associates. 

Instacart, which launched instant payment for its workers in 2019, announced earlier this week that it shortened the timeframe workers need to wait to cash out tips after completing order deliveries from 24 to two hours.