Instacart enhances click-and-collect service

With a strong foothold in the grocery delivery market, Instacart said click and collect would be a priority in 2020 and has introduced new features to make it easier for customers to pick up their orders.

Instacart said it would expand its Instacart Pickup offering to stores in all 50 states by the end of 2020. The company already powers pickup for more than 50 grocery partners across more than 30 states and parts of Canada.

“2020 is the year of pickup. For our retail partners, we’ve seen Instacart Pickup become a gateway to growth in a margin-thin industry," said Instacart president Nilam Ganenthiran. "Our pickup product is also becoming a significant revenue contributor for our retail partners, growing customer basket size by an average of 15% and accounting for an average of 20% of a retailer's total Instacart store sales."

The company has appointed Sarah Mastrorocco to the newly-created role of general manager, Instacart Pickup, to grow the service.

"With the completed rollout of the new Instacart Pickup and the appointment of Sarah as our new GM, we’re laying the groundwork now to prepare for another year of triple-digit growth," said Ganenthiran. "By year end, we expect to have the largest pickup retail footprint in North America and, in the coming years, to grow Instacart Pickup into a multibillion-dollar business."

Instacart Pickup service in 2020 includes:

• Smart Storefronts: Customers can easily toggle between delivery and pickup options to view the most up-to-date inventory by store and compare time windows for both.


• “Pick Your Pickup” Mapping: Coming from home, work, soccer practice and everywhere in between, customers can easily view and select the pickup location most convenient to their route that day.


• “On The Way” Alerts for Faster Pickup: Customers can enable location-based notifications to let the store know when they’re on the way.


• Send a Friend or Family Member: Customers can share their order details with friends and family to delegate pickup to another driver.

Instacart partners with more than 350 national, regional and local retailers in North America to offer delivery from nearly 25,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in the United States and Canada.

Instacart delivery is currently available to more than 85% of households in the United States, and more than 70% of households in Canada.

A version of this article appeared at ProgressiveGrocer.com