Walmart in the US is piloting a partnership with Instacart to provide rapid delivery. The service is initially launching in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in California, as well as Tusla, Oklahoma. Customers can choose from thousands of items across grocery and non-food categories, with products delivered to customers’ homes within one hour after order.
The move makes Walmart the last major US grocery chain to partner with Instacart as the race for speed and convenience in fulfillment is fuelled by fast-growing online demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon itself offers grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh and Amazon Prime Now, delivering from a combination of warehouses and Whole Foods stores.
As Instacart has risen to become the largest US grocery ecommerce platform, brands must acknowledge the importance of intermediaries as a new major channel. Consolidating offers from Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Walmart, among many others, suppliers need to prioritize visibility, searchability and strong content to drive conversion on a platform that drives high repeat purchase rates. To tap into the opportunity, brands should work both with Instacart and the stores it picks from to ensure high availability levels via fast and flexible supply chains.
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