Kroger and Instacart Launch Nationwide Kroger Delivery Now to Provide 30-Minute Delivery
The Kroger Co., along with Instacart, has launched Kroger Delivery Now – a new service powered by a virtual convenience store that is fulfilled by the Kroger family of stores and provides fresh groceries and household essentials in as little as 30 minutes.
“Kroger Delivery Now is a differentiated solution in the e-commerce industry, not just the grocery sector,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “Our new service provides customers with one more way to shop with us and addresses the importance of convenience and immediacy. Operationally, this service reaches up to 50 million households and it’s an expansion of our thriving e-commerce model that demonstrates strategic interplay among our assets, expansive store network, supply chain and dedicated fulfillment centers and fleet, joined by Instacart’s unrivaled fulfillment model and last-mile technology to provide our customers with anything, anytime, anywhere without compromise.
“Last year, Kroger achieved more than $10 billion in e-commerce sales, and we’re committed to doubling both our digital sales and profitability rate by the end of 2023 and expect Kroger Delivery Now will help us reach that target,” continued McMullen.
Convenience continues to be one of the most popular categories on Instacart, with orders up more than 150 percent since May 2021. Demand for rapid delivery also continues to grow, with nearly 20 percent of customers selecting Priority Delivery at checkout today. By using Kroger’s existing network of more than 2,700 stores, Kroger Delivery Now creates a first-of-its-kind virtual convenience experience that makes faster delivery possible from the Kroger family of stores, benefiting customers across the country who live near a store, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry’s, Mariano’s and Smith’s locations.
With the launch of Kroger Delivery Now, Instacart is also unveiling the Convenience Hub on the Instacart Marketplace, a new product experience that streamlines convenience shopping for customers. Through the new Convenience Hub, customers in nearly every major US city can now shop for convenience essentials 24 hours a day, seven days a week with free Priority Delivery in as fast as 30 minutes for Instacart Express members on orders more than $10.
“We’re proud to expand our long-time, strategic partnership with Kroger and together unveil Kroger Delivery Now – an entirely new way for customers to access convenience delivery nationwide. Kroger Delivery Now, available only on Kroger.com and the Instacart Marketplace, reimagines the modern convenience store by leveraging the entire network of iconic Kroger Family of Stores brands to offer 30-minute delivery to customers for the first time nationwide,” said Fidji Simo, Instacart CEO. “Instacart has become a powerful retail enablement platform and today’s expansion of our Kroger partnership is another example of our commitment to develop new solutions that help retailers grow and meet the evolving needs of their businesses and customers.”
“Instacart is one of our strategic partners and their industry-leading scale and ingenuity complements Kroger’s best-in-class assets, digital strategy and expanding seamless ecosystem, helping enable us to continue growing our business,” continued McMullen. “Kroger Delivery Now reinforces our commitment to leading with fresh and accelerating with digital in an environment of increased and sustained customer expectations for fresh food on demand. This service is truly a gamechanger and we’re eager to continue leading the way by expanding our ecosystem and leveraging our complementary assets to deliver a seamless experience with our total network of assets, including enterprising and innovative last-mile solutions—today’s true competitive horsepower—in the most scalable, sustainable and profitable way to advance our business and create a consistent and rewarding customer experience whether they want groceries now or tomorrow.”
To learn more about the Kroger Delivery Now service, visit Kroger or Instacart.