In the high-density area of New York’s Manhattan, the difficulty of getting to the grocery store and hauling groceries home is already enough to have helped gain Internet grocer FreshDirect LLC’s home delivery service a loyal following in the city and surrounding areas. But FreshDirect has developed a program to further encourage loyalty that targets a key barrier keeping more consumers from buying groceries online-the cost of delivery.

Under FreshDirect’s Unlimited Delivery Pass program, customers can buy a pass for six months for $59, or for a year for $99. The pass covers delivery charges for as many online orders as the customer places during that period. The usual delivery charge per order starts at $4.99 for most of FreshDirect’s service area and ranges up to $6.99.The Unlimited Delivery Pass, about a year old at FreshDirect, was accompanied by a decrease in minimum required order size for delivery, to $30 from the original $50.

Chief marketing officer Steve Druckman says the program has encouraged repeat shoppers. We lowered the delivery fee after we talked to our customers, he says. The combination of a lower minimum order and the Unlimited Delivery Pass option have represented an amazing ability for our customers to get in the habit of using FreshDirect, he adds.

FreshDirect, No. 58 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.