Instacart to deliver groceries for Giant Eagle

Regional grocer Giant Eagle has partnered with Instacart to provide same-day delivery at more than 20 supermarkets across Ohio and Indiana, with more to be added soon, according to an announcement Wednesday.

The delivery service will be added to all 200 Giant Eagle and Market District stores “in the future,” Instacart said in a statement. Plus, customers in Ohio will be able to order alcohol for delivery from participating Giant Eagle and Market District stores in the coming months.

Giant Eagle launched an in-house delivery service in 2017 and has expanded it in the years since.

“Our partnership with Instacart makes ordering groceries from Giant Eagle more convenient than ever, whether customers choose to use our longstanding, company-led curbside pickup and delivery service or Instacart’s popular platform,” Graham Watkins, the grocer’s EVP and chief information and supply chain officer, said in a statement. “We always want to think like those we aim to serve, and we recognize that many shoppers have come to rely on Instacart for their grocery needs. This partnership ensures that customers across all our markets have access to our stores regardless of how they choose to shop with us.”

Offering delivery choices gives shoppers options, the grocer said, depending on whether they want their groceries “carefully selected by Giant Eagle’s expertly trained team members” or the “immediacy of having groceries delivered to their doorstep in as fast as an hour via Instacart.”

Instacart last month filed documents for its long-awaited initial public offering, though it has not stated how much money it seeks to raise.

“As I write this, a massive digital transformation is underway in the grocery industry,” Instacart CEO Fidji Simo wrote in the filing. “Grocery is the largest retail category and represents a $1.1 trillion industry in the United States alone. But only 12% of grocery sales are made online today. As even more people shop online, online penetration could double or more over time.”

Initially, Instacart delivery will be available from Giant Eagle and Market District stores across central Ohio and Carmel, Indiana.

Giant Eagle’s stores are located in Pennsylvania, central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.

Instacart said it now provides delivery and pickup services from more than 80,000 stores in North America in partnership with more than 1,400 national, regional and local retail banners.