Instacart Enables Online Catering Ordering and Delivery for Grocers in the Instacart App

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced that grocers can use FoodStorm's order management system (OMS) with the Instacart App, making it easier to offer online ordering and delivery of catering items. Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace is the first retailer to connect their FoodStorm OMS directly with their Instacart App storefront, allowing customers across New York and New Jersey to easily place catering orders online, while streamlining the process for store associates to manage orders.

FoodStorm can now be integrated with the Instacart App...

Instacart Introduces Cart Star, New Shopper Rewards Program

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced the introduction of Cart Star, a new shopper rewards program that will invite shoppers to get recognized for their hard work on the platform.

The Cart Star program will offer impactful incentives via three tiers: Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Cart. Every qualifying shopper in the Cart Star program will receive tailored rewards and offerings through third-party partners as well as directly within the Instacart platform.

"Shoppers are an important part of the Instacart community, helping us invite the world to..."

Instacart Introduces Reimagined Ratings System and More Features for Shoppers

Instacart, a leading retail enablement company in North America, today announced a reimagined customer ratings system, delivering a more helpful, informative, and fair experience for shoppers. Instead of prioritization of batches being based on having the highest rating possible, shoppers will now need to maintain a 4.7 average rating or above for batch prioritization. In addition, Instacart is forgiving more ratings for reasons that may be outside of a shopper's control, including if a customer consistently rates shoppers below 5 stars.

Instacart is also introducing a new "Your stats" screen...

Publix and Instacart Debut Carrot Warehouses in Miami

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the United States with 1,295 grocery stores across several Southeastern states, and Instacart, a leading retail enablement company in North America, are debuting 15-minute delivery in Miami powered by Instacart's nano-fulfillment solution, Carrot Warehouses. Starting today and rolling out over the coming weeks, customers in Miami's Brickell, Coral Gables and Wynwood neighborhoods will be able to have a wide range of fresh produce, pantry staples, household goods and more delivered from Publix in as fast as 15-minutes, whether it's early morning or...

Wegmans Food Markets Now Accepts EBT SNAP Payments for Same-Day Delivery and Pickup via Instacart

Instacart, a leading retail enablement company in North America, and Wegmans Food Markets today announced the that they will accept Electronic Benefits Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) payments across its 106 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina. EBT SNAP will be available for purchases made at Wegmans via the Instacart website and mobile app.  

Instacart Unveils Shoppable Recipes, New Product Integrations with TikTok, Hearst Magazines, & More

Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced Shoppable Recipes, new product integrations that will allow food creators to make their recipes shoppable on Instacart via strategic integrations on TikTok and Tasty, as well on Hearst Magazines' properties like Delish, Good Housekeeping, and more. Shoppable Recipes leverages Instacart's immense grocery catalog -- one of the largest in the world -- with real-time AI-driven modeling to find in-stock items and available Shoppers to get them delivered quickly, empowering people to turn the food...

Instacart and Quicklly Join Forces to Bring Authentic Indian Meals to Kitchens Nationwide

Quicklly, the nation's largest and most comprehensive marketplace for Indian and South Asian food, and Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced the launch of a new storefront that offers nationwide delivery of Quicklly's ready-to-eat meal kits in 3-4 days.

As Indian food continues to gain popularity and expand beyond South Asian consumers, the new storefront provides customers with access to ready-to-eat Indian meal kits and simplifies the shopping experience for millions of Indian food lovers...

Instacart is Making Online Grocery More Affordable by Introducing the Deals Hub

Today, we’re announcing a number of new features that will help people get more out of their Instacart experience and make grocery shopping more affordable. From a Deals Tab and exclusive savings for Express members to a new reduced cost and free delivery option and a new “Dollar Store Hub” destination on the Instacart marketplace, we’re rolling out more ways for customers to save when shopping from their favorite retailers.

This new slate of features come at a time when grocery costs are continuing to rise...

Stop & Shop and Instacart Team Up to Offer 30-Minute Convenience Delivery Service In the Northeast

Committed to providing customers with convenient ways to shop, Stop & Shop is taking convenience to a new level, partnering with Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, to launch Stop & Shop Express. Stop & Shop Express allows customers to shop for groceries, convenience items, and other household essentials delivered to them in as fast as 30 minutes. Stop & Shop is the first grocery retailer in the Northeast to make this service available with Instacart.

Perfect for when you forget the key ingredient in...

Instacart Acquires FoodStorm 

Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced its acquisition of FoodStorm, a SaaS order management system (OMS) that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering experiences for grocery retailers. With this acquisition, Instacart is expanding its enterprise technology portfolio to further support its retail partners' ecommerce needs, investing in more innovative technology solutions that help retailers grow, compete, and better meet the evolving needs of their customers.

The process for ordering prepared foods from grocers typically requires customers to call the store or place an order in-person - a labor-intensive and...

The GIANT Company Partners With Instacart To Launch “Instant Delivery” From All Stores

As part of its omnichannel growth, The GIANT CompanyThe Giant Company together with Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, announced today the launch of GIANT Instant Delivery and MARTIN’S Instant Delivery, providing customers with convenience delivery chainwide. With convenience as one of the most popular categories on Instacart, GIANT Instant Delivery provides customers with fresh groceries, convenience items, and household essentials from early morning to late at night in as fast as 30 minutes.

“While no two families’ grocery experiences are alike..."

Three Reasons Retailers Want to Become Tech Platforms

Kroger’s proprietary “Customer Fulfillment Center” (CFC) concept is one example of a retailer acting as a tech platform.

More retailers are attempting to transform themselves into full-fledged technology platforms, with good justification.

I recently wrote on a column on signs that Instacart wants to join major technology providers such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook by evolving into a broadly-based tech platform. While I still stand behind that column, Instacart is hardly alone in what appear to be its technology ambitions.

Other retailers, including (but not limited to)...