Instacart Partners With C&S Independent Grocers

Instacart and C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S., have partnered to offer e-commerce and same-day delivery solutions to more than 3,000 C&S independent grocery retailers across the U.S. 

Per the partnership, C&S of Keene, N.H., will help bring its network of independent grocers onto the Instacart marketplace. The companies will work closely to help retailers establish an e-commerce and delivery offering to meet the needs of their customers.

“C&S is proud to provide our retail partners with the ability to move their businesses online,” C&S VP of Retail Services Corey Quiring said in a release. “Now more than ever before, shoppers need the safety and convenience of online shopping and home delivery. Instacart’s services are unparalleled in providing a seamless shopping experience.”

Once a C&S grocer is live on the Instacart marketplace, customers can visit the Instacart website or download the mobile app, enter their city, select their store and begin adding items to their Instacart grocery cart. An Instacart personal shopper will then pick and deliver the order within the customer’s designated time frame—same-day or scheduled up to two weeks in advance. All Instacart orders default to “Leave at My Door Delivery” to ensure customers receive deliveries safely and can maintain social distancing guidelines.

“It’s critical that families have access to groceries and goods from the retailers they love and trust. By partnering with C&S, we’re able to bring more independently owned grocers online and ensure the communities they serve can more easily access the household essentials they need,” said Chris Rogers, VP of retail for San Francisco-based Instacart, in a statement.

Instacart and C&S hope the new partnership will be advantageous to both companies, as well as some of the thousands of independent grocers in the wholesale grocers’ stable. Instacart points to a recent study from NERA Economic Consulting, which showed that Instacart allows grocers to maintain existing customer relationships and attract new ones, while also protecting and creating jobs at brick-and- mortar stores.

The study found that Instacart increased retail grocery revenue by more than $620 million in 2019 across four states, with impacts of over $337 million in California, $75 million in Illinois, $154 million in New York and $55 million in Washington.

C&S supplies more than 7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 137,000 different products. Instacart today partners with more than 350 national, regional and local retailers to offer delivery from over 25,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in the U.S. and Canada.