Stop & Shop Joins Instacart Convenience Platform

Stop & Shop said Tuesday it was teaming with Instacart to offer a 30-minute delivery option to be known as Stop & Shop Express.

Similar to the new options rolled out by Stop & Shop’s Ahold Delhaize USA sister brand the Giant Co. and by Kroger and Instacart last month, Stop & Shop Express allows consumers to shop online for convenience items, groceries and household essentials for delivery in 30 minutes. The offering is available through Instacart’s Convenience Hub, an Instacart Marketplace product feature that streamlines the convenience shopping experience for customers.

“With Stop & Shop Express, not only will we continue to be there for our customers with our great selection of grocery items, but we can be there for them in as fast as 30 minutes,” Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, said in a release. “Our customers’ lives are busier than ever, and this service will help make things easier for them.”

Stop & Shop said its Express store would include about 30,000 items and is available to shoppers across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The retailer said customers can receive an introductory discount of $20 off their $30 order beginning Oct. 19  with the code Save20on30VC*.

Stop & Shop Express carries a $10 minimum and a $2.99 delivery fee. Paid members of Instacart Express can receive free delivery; that service costs $9.99 per month or $99 a year.

Stop & Shop first partnered with Instacart in 2017. In July 2020, the grocer expanded its availability on Instacart to 321 locations, making same-day, contactless delivery accessible from more than 75% of its stores.

The Express offering comes as retailers and their partners look to increase the speed at which they can deliver (with an eye on capturing more shopping occasions), blunt the advantages of Amazon and other emerging “instant commerce” options such as Gopuff, and head off competition from rival delivery platforms that are bundling services like restaurant and convenience food orders.

“We’re proud to expand our long-standing partnership with Stop & Shop to provide customers with an unmatched convenience delivery offering,” Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart, said. “From a last-minute baking or dinner ingredient to toothpaste and paper goods, we’re thrilled to give customers an easier and faster way to access their convenience shopping needs. As part of our deepened partnership, we’re excited to introduce Stop & Shop Express and continue to provide an online grocery experience that is effortless, accessible and affordable for customers.”

Instacart, based in San Francisco, has partnered with more than 600 national, regional and local retailers to deliver from nearly 55,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America.