Walmart is partnering with Instacart to offer same-day delivery, starting in a few U.S. markets, making it the latest major grocery chain to partner with Instacart in its battle against Amazon and Whole Foods.
The partnership is currently in a pilot phase in four markets in California and Oklahoma.
Walmart’s partnership comes at an important time. Consumers are relying on grocery deliveries at an unusual rate because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and some analysts believe customers will continue to go online even when things return to normal.
“Today we welcomed Walmart to the Instacart Marketplace for the first time in the US Instacart now supplies Walmart locations in three California markets – Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego – such as Tulsa, Oklahoma,” a spokesman for Instacart in a statement. “The new partnership brings thousands of items – from groceries, alcohol and pantry staples to home decor and enhancement, personal care, electronics and more – to low-cost Walmart stores to customers’ doors in as little as an hour every day.”
Instacart already collaborates with or supplies goods from Aldi, Target, Costco, Albertsons, Kroger and Walmart’s Sam’s Club, along with smaller grocery and drug stores.
By offering fast delivery, large chain stores have a stronger position against Amazon, offering grocery delivery services Amazon Fresh and Amazon Prime Now from their own warehouses and Whole Foods stores.
In his testimony before the subcommittee on anti-trust at the House Judiciary on July 29, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said companies like Shopify and Instacart are emerging as competitors for Amazon’s business.
“In recent months, the pick-up of online order restriction has increased more than 200%, in part due to concerns about COVID-19,” Bezos said. ‘We are also facing new competition from the likes of Shopify and Instacart – companies that allow traditional physical stores to set up an almost instant online store and deliver products directly to customers in new and innovative ways – and a growing list of omnichannel business models . ”
Staff of Zillow contributed.
