Sam’s Club, Instacart Forge Delivery Partnership

Walmart’s Sam’s Club division is now providing online ordering and same-delivery delivery through Instacart in select cities.

Shoppers in Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, as well as in St. Louis can now visit Sam Club's website to fill virtual carts with items such as produce, meat, frozen foods and everyday essentials such as small appliances, and have them delivered by Instacart in as little as an hour.

The new offering, which the companies said may expand to additional markets later this year, adds another convenience for shoppers of Walmart’s membership warehouse club format. In recent years, the club store chain has introduced an app allowing shoppers to assemble online orders for pickup at the store and most recently extended a benefit to its top-tier plus members to receive free home shipping on online orders.

The Instacart offering will provide same-day shipping for a per-delivery fee that varies on order size and time of delivery. It is not limited to club members, although nonmembers would typically pay higher per-item prices. Shoppers can also opt to pay a monthly or annual membership fee to Instacart to receive delivery. A spokeswoman told WGB that Instacart is offering about 5,000 SKUs at the stores.

“We know our members love our mix of exciting items, and appreciate it when we make life a little easier for them. Whether it’s Scan & Go, Club Pickup—and now delivery in as little as an hour—shopping with Sam’s Club is getting easier and more convenient, and we’re just getting started,” Sachin Padwal, Sam’s Club VP of omnichannel and in-club product, said in a statement. “Instacart is a trusted partner by so many customers, and we are thrilled to be launching this service with them.”

Related:Instacart Raises $200M to Beef Up Against Amazon Delivery

For Instacart, the agreement represents its first official partnership with Walmart, the largest U.S. grocer; although it is limited at this point to Sam’s Club stores in the announced markets. The San Francisco-based technology company now has agreements with the eight largest food retailers in the country. Multiple partnerships help the company address the cost of on-demand delivery.

“As Instacart continues to expand to new markets and reach new customers at a blistering pace, valued and respected brands such as Sam’s Club are the driving force behind it,” Sarah Mastrorocco, Instacart’s VP of business development, said in a statement.