Costco, Lowes, Stater Bros. Spur Rapid Instacart Expansion

Costco Wholesale is the latest to join the growing list of retailers to team up with Instacart. Initially slow to embrace online shopping, this week Costco began offering two-day delivery of shelf-stable food from its own website and expanded its partnership with Instacart for fresh food deliveries, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The move marks Costco's push to compete with the likes of Amazon, and follows announcements earlier this week of Lowes Foods and Stater Bros. Markets' expanded Instacart services. 

Instacart customers in Raleigh-Durham can now purchase groceries from Lowes Foods and can add their Lowes Foods Fresh Rewards number to continue earning gas rewards.

"Our guests are leading increasingly busy lives and anything we can do to offer them convenience makes all the difference," says Tim Lowe, president of Lowes Foods. "Lowes Foods is a family-owned, Carolinas-based retailer founded in 1954 and a pioneer in online ordering. We are proud to have launched personal shopping before the internet was widely adopted through our phone-in order service. Joining an industry leader like Instacart allows us to give our guests an additional option for home delivery that is fast and convenient."

To celebrate the partnership, Instacart is offering Lowes Foods customers $20 off their first order of $35 or more -- plus a free first time delivery -- when they enter the code LOWESFOODS20 at checkout until Oct. 30.

Additionally, Stater Bros. Markets has further expanded its Instacart service to locations covering zip codes in areas of the Inland Empire, the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles.   

 “Partnering with the best, most beloved local grocery retailers is a key cornerstone of our business,” says Nilam Ganenthiran, chief business officer at Instacart. “Stater Bros. is a beloved brand, and we are proud of this partnership that allows us to bring customers a whole new range of products with delivery in as little as an hour.”