Walmart is teaming up to deliver platform Instacart in yet another bid to compete with Amazon and its growing offline network of Whole Foods stores and Prime and one-day Prime delivery. The partnership, first reported by CNBC on Tuesday, means that Walmart customers in four pilot markets spanning California and Oklahoma can now choose Walmart’s groceries when placing an Instacart order.
Instacart already works with large stores such as Albertsons, Aldi, Costco, Kroger and Target, as well as smaller chain stores such as Wegmans and pharmacies such as CVS. The platform also has an existing partnership with Wal’s owned Sam’s Club that remains intact. The addition of Walmart – Amazon’s primary rival that has worked to set up its own network of grocery suppliers – should help both retailer and Instacart compete with Amazon Whole Foods and e-commerce giant Amazon’s services and Prime. Pantry services.
Thanks to its Prime membership and the fastest growing logistics network, Amazon is able to link its Whole Foods stores to its Prime shipping features, allowing all types of shopping and delivery perks to give Amazon an advantage over self-established brick and mortar retailers like Walmart. But connecting with Instacart – which, like Amazon, has seen its business boom thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic – might help Walmart in the company’s online ordering and logistics side.
“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 given to CNBC. “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.”
