Ahold Delhaize USA adds more Instacart virtual c-stores

All Ahold Delhaize USA supermarket chains — Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Food Lion and Hannaford — now provide 30-minute delivery of convenience-oriented products via Instacart.

San Francisco-based Instacart said Tuesday that new virtual convenience storefronts including Giant Food Convenience, Food Lion Now and Hannaford Now join Shop & Stop Express, Giant Instant Delivery and Martin’s Instant Delivery in providing rapid delivery of convenience items and household essentials, with the service available from more than 1,400 stores on the East Coast.

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop, Ahold Delhaize’s largest U.S. supermarket business, launched its Instacart-powered express delivery service in October. Stop & Shop Express offers than 30,000 products — such as prepared foods, snacks, beverages, paper goods, cleaners and baby care, among other items — for delivery in as soon as 30 minutes from more than 400 supermarkets in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.

That followed The Giant Company’s late September launch of 30-minute Instant Delivery service from early morning to late at night for convenience products, fresh groceries and household essentials from Giant and Martin’s supermarkets. About 20,000 items from the Carlisle, Pa.-based grocer are available via Giant Instant Delivery and Martin’s Instant Delivery, such as prepared foods, snacks and beverages as well as “last-minute” items like paper goods, household cleaners and baby care products. Both the Giant/Martin’s and Stop & Shop convenience delivery services require a $10 order minimum and carry a $2.99 delivery fee. 

Related:Stop & Shop kicks off Express delivery

“We’re proud to launch convenience delivery in partnership with Ahold Delhaize USA to offer a streamlined way for customers to get the last-minute items they need fast,” Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart, said in a statement. “Our convenience business has more than doubled since June due to customer demand, and our expanded partnership with Ahold Delhaize USA allows Hannaford, Giant, Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant Food and Martin’s customers to access both delivery speed and selection from their favorite grocer. We look forward to continuing to find new ways to make the online grocery experience effortless, accessible, and affordable for customers in deep partnership with retailers.”

Items available for 30-minute delivery include OTC medicines, paper goods, household cleaners and baby care products, along with staple groceries, prepared foods, snacks and beverages.

For the service, the Ahold Delhaize USA chains joined Instacart’s Convenience Hub, a recently introduced product experience on the Instacart Marketplace designed to streamline convenience shopping. Instacart noted that Express Delivery is aimed at supplementing customers’ weekly grocery shop by offering as fast as 30-minute turnaround when they only need a few items quickly.

Related:The Giant Company launches Instant Delivery

Ahold Delhaize USA customers who enroll in Instacart Express also can get free Priority Delivery in as soon as 30 minutes on orders over $10. The food retailer and Instacart first partnered in 2019 and currenlty offer delivery in as soon as an hour and 30-minute convenience delivery nationwide from more than 1,400 stores. The companies expanded their partnership in 2020 to include alcohol delivery and pickup, now available from about 250 stores in eight states, including Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Martin’s, Giant Food and Food Lion. 

Instacart announced the Convenience Hub in mid-September in tandem with The Kroger Co., which unveiled a 30-minute delivery service dubbed Kroger Delivery Now. Instacart also rolled out 24/7 delivery at selected retail partners with stores open 24 hours or extended hours.