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Instacart speaks loudly to independents with Rosie acquisition
Online grocery giant has purchased e-commerce platform Rosie, geared for local and independent retailers
3 Min Read
With the acquisition, Instacart says it’s “deepening its commitment to serving local and independent grocers and expanding its Instacart Platform e-commerce offerings.”Instacart
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Following its recent acquisition of AI-powered pricing and promotions platform Eversight, Instacart is doubling down on support for independently-owned and locally-operated grocers, giving them access to a broader range of technology and fulfillment capabilities to help grow their businesses
Rosie, the e-commerce technology, has already been implemented by hundreds of local and independent retailers – like Rosauers Supermarkets, Lee's Marketplace, Niemann Foods, Inc., Geissler's Supermarkets – across more than 40 states
In addition to e-commerce, Rosie provides retailers with delivery opportunities, omnichannel marketing and deep data services
In yet another acquisition move leading up to its much-anticipated initial public offering, Instacart has acquired e-commerce platform service Rosie, geared towards local and independent retailers and wholesalers.
Launched in 2013 — and named after the robot housekeeper on “The Jetsons” — online grocery app Rosie allows customers to shop online from their favorite local stores for same-day delivery or in-store pickup. In addition to e-commerce, Rosie provides retailers with delivery opportunities, omnichannel marketing and deep data services.
With this acquisition, Instacart says it’s “deepening its commitment to serving local and independent grocers and expanding its Instacart Platform e-commerce offerings.”
The move comes on the heels of many by Instacart over the last several months: the acquisition of AI-powered pricing and promotions platform Eversight; a refresh of its subscription plan, rebranded as Instacart ; the addition of shoppable video ads; and most recently, the launch of its Carts feature, which encourages users to orient their shopping habits around events or via existing carts curated by celebrities.
Since its founding, Rosie’s mission has been to bring online grocery to Main Street or, as co-founder and CEO Nick Nickitas says, “Let's make it as easy to shop online, from a local store, as it would be to shop on Amazon or Walmart.”
The company has spent nearly a decade building relationships and supporting local and independent retailers like Rosauers Supermarkets, Lee's Marketplace, Niemann Foods, Inc., and Geissler's Supermarkets across more than 40 states.
The company’s product features include shoppable weekly ads, store loyalty and rewards programs integrations, third-party fulfillment logistics integrations, payment processing and more – all developed for local and independent grocers.
“Local and independent grocers are so important to the grocery ecosystem,” said Chris Rogers, chief business officer at Instacart. “They have loyal customers, create meaningful job opportunities and serve as cornerstones of their communities. The Rosie team understands these grocers better than anyone, and that’s why we’re proud to welcome them to Instacart.”
Instacart says the new technology will give more retailers access to tools and technologies that can lead to business growth. Through this acquisition, Rosie customers will also have the opportunity to utilize Instacart’s in-store offerings like Foodstorm’s order management system and Caper’s smart cart and checkout technology, the Instacart shopper network to help support new picking and fulfillment options, Carrot Ads and loyalty programs.
Moving forward, Rosie employees will lead Instacart’s business strategy and technology development for local independent grocers.
