Kroger Co. has teamed with Instacart to launch a high-speed delivery service that’s the first of its kind.
Downtown Cincinnati-based Kroger (NYSE: KR), the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, has rolled out Kroger Delivery Now. The service provides delivery as fast as 30 minutes.
The service is powered by what Kroger bills as a virtual convenience store because of the products available and the delivery speed. It offers a broad selection of 25,000 items that can be delivered rapidly to customers’ homes from early in the morning to late at night. The service is available across the country to customers who live near any of Kroger’s 2,742 stores in 35 states.
The new service should help Kroger achieve its goal to double its digital sales and profitability by the end of 2023, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said. Kroger topped $10 billion in e-commerce sales last year.
Kroger calls it the nation’s only delivery service that doesn't require customers to trade off either selection, quality, price or speed. Customers can order anything from fresh groceries to household products and receive them quickly at their homes.
McMullen called the service “a differentiated solution in the e-commerce industry, not just the grocery sector. Our new service provides customers with one more way to shop with us and addresses the importance of convenience and immediacy.”
Kroger can reach up to 50 million households with Kroger Delivery Now. The service combines Instacart’s technology and ability to deliver products to people’s homes with Kroger’s e-commerce model that utilizes its huge store network, McMullen said.
Customers can access Kroger Delivery Now at Kroger.com and on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart has launched a new Convenience Hub on its Marketplace along with the launch of Kroger Delivery Now. The Convenience Hub aims to streamline convenience shopping for Instacart customers. The hub enables customers in most major cities to shop for convenience items 24 hours a day and get free delivery in as little as 30 minutes on orders of more than $10 for Instacart Express members.
The service launch expands Kroger’s partnership with Instacart. It has teamed with the delivery company since 2017. The companies now offer two-hour grocery delivery in addition to the new 30-minute delivery nationwide. Two years ago Kroger and Instacart added alcohol delivery that’s now available from about 1,500 Kroger stores in 15 states.
Kroger has made numerous investments in expanding its delivery service over the past few years. It already offers delivery at 2,488 of its stores. But Kroger Delivery Now offers faster service. Kroger has also recently tested drone delivery technology, introduced home delivery service in Florida using its Ocado automated customer fulfillment center and launched a partnership with Google to streamline its customer pickup service.
