Costco rolls out Instacart same-day delivery across Canada

Costco Wholesale has gone live with Instacart same-day online grocery delivery at most of its 100 warehouse clubs in Canada.

Instacart said Thursday that the service is now available at 76 Costco clubs in Canada via the Instacart online marketplace, accessed at instacart.ca/store/costco or through the Instacart mobile app. The rollout follows a two-month pilot at selected Costco locations in Ontario.

The expansion enables consumers across Canada to order groceries, pantry staples and household essentials directly from a Costco store and have their purchase delivered to their home in as soon as two hours, with or without a Costco membership, Instacart said. Products available through the service include fresh produce, meat and seafood, snacks, deli offerings, frozen goods, and baby and pet care items, among others. Orders are picked, packed and delivered by Instacart personal shoppers in the customer’s designated time frame.

“With Instacart, we can bring even more benefits of a Costco membership to our valued members,” Pierre Riel, senior vice president and country manager at Costco Wholesale Canada, said in a statement. “Instacart delivery will help us serve more families than ever before, and we see this new offering as a great complement to our two-day grocery delivery service that launched in 2018.”

Related:Instacart moves forward with pharmacy partnership at Costco

Canadian consumers can order groceries, pantry staples and household essentials directly from a Costco store for delivery with or without a Costco membership.

The companies also launched Costco’s new Canadian members-only website, which features member benefits and access to Instacart same-day delivery. Instacart Enterprise, the e-commerce company’s retailer service unit, built and powers the Costco Canada member site, accessed at sameday.costco.ca.

“Grocery delivery has become essential for millions, and we’re proud to make same-day delivery from Costco available to even more Canadians. Now, through the Instacart marketplace and Costco’s new members website, families across Canada can get the groceries and goods they need, delivered to their door in a matter of hours,” according to Andrew Nodes, vice president of retail at San Francisco-based Instacart. “We want to help retailers reach their customers when, where and how they want to shop. With this launch, we’re extending the reach of Costco in Canada and making it possible for Costco members and non-members alike to access same-day delivery of Costco’s broad selection of groceries and goods.” 

Instacart, which also has an office in Toronto, noted that its expansion with Costco in Canada builds on its national partnership with the Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer in the United States.

Related:Costco, Instacart expand alcohol delivery to 200 club stores

Costco first partnered with Instacart in February 2016 and now offers Instacart same-day delivery at all of its 548 U.S. clubs. The companies piloted prescription delivery last fall from several Costco pharmacies in Southern California and Washington state before expanding the service to nearly 200 clubs in April and then rolling it out chainwide in May across 42 states and the District of Columbia, with nearly 100% coverage in each state. And last December, Instacart and Costco expanded same-day delivery of beer, wine and/or liquor to 200 clubs in 11 states.

Overall, Instacart partners with more than 400 national, regional and local retailers in providing delivery and pickup services from 30,000-plus stores in over 5,500 cities in North America. Its delivery service is available to more than 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households. The company’s Instacart Enterprise services arm provides white-label e-commerce solutions to more than 140 retailers across North America.