Instacart to Add 8,000 Walgreens Stores to Platform

Walgreens today announced it is expanding its on-demand delivery solutions with Instacart to residents across Illinois, with plans to roll out the service nationwide to nearly 8,000 stores over the coming weeks, the companies said.

Following the launch in Illinois, the service will expand over the coming weeks to markets including Southeast Florida, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York City and more. Walgreens and Instacart plan to scale the same-day on-demand delivery collaboration nationwide across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., throughout the spring and will also increase the products offered over time.

The launch continues to add to a swelling marketplace of retail store brands available through Instacart, the San Francisco-based online platform that is expanding well beyond its grocery roots. The company said recently it was in the process of adding 6,000 Family Dollar stores, and late last year, it added the electronics retailer Best Buy and c-store chain 7-Eleven to its platform. As its partners continue to see additional demand for e-commerce, Instacart this week was also reported to have been exploring the potential of automated warehouses to help address volume. 

Walgreens, the U.S. division of Walgreen Boots Alliance based in Deerfield, Ill., said customers would find tens of thousands of Walgreens items, including over-the-counter medications, health and wellness, beauty and personal care, household essentials, and convenience products, available for delivery via Instacart in as fast as one hour.

“Convenience is at the core of what we do, and Walgreens is thrilled to be partnering with Instacart to bring customers a simple and trusted same-day delivery option for the products they need right to their door,” said Stefanie Kruse, VP of digital commerce and omnichannel for Walgreens, in a statement. “This collaboration builds upon several other recent steps in our digital transformation to deliver health expertise to customers in new channels, which is timely given shifts in customer needs during the pandemic.”

To order Walgreens items for delivery, customers can visit or select the Walgreens storefront in the Instacart mobile app. Customers can chat directly with their Instacart shopper as their order is being picked and will receive real-time updates as their order is shopped and delivered. No membership is required when using Instacart but the company does offer an Instacart Express membership that includes reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on all orders over $35.