Little Rock-area residents who want to cross off a trip to the grocery store can take advantage of a new service that will deliver food and other consumables to their doorstep.
Instacart, a San Francisco-based company, is expanding its service to Little Rock and offering grocery delivery in as little as one hour, beginning today. The company is working with retailers such as Kroger, CVS, Whole Foods Market, Natural Grocers and Petco to provide the service, moving into Little Rock after receiving an "overwhelming volume of requests."
"Our goal is to cover every household we can," said operations manager Jessica Murdock, whose company has recently announced similar expansion into areas including Tulsa, Albuquerque, N.M., and Chattanooga, Tenn. "Little Rock made sense because it has the retailer mix that we look for and our customers need."
The delivery service will be available to more than 224,000 households in the Little Rock market, according to the company. Customers can go to Instacart's website or mobile app, select items and add them to their cart. They'll also select a delivery window for the items, which can be dropped off as quickly as one hour. Orders can be made up to a week in advance.
Once the order is submitted, an Instacart shopper will go to the store, purchase the products and deliver them to the customer in the selected time frame. A delivery fee of $5.99 is added to each order of $35 or more. Fees for deliveries under $35 will cost more. The delivery charge is waived for Instacart Express members, who pay an annual or monthly membership fee for unlimited service. Prices on products could be higher than in-store prices, depending on the retailer.
Murdock, who will oversee operations in the area, said the company has hired about 75 independent contractors for its service. Shoppers undergo a background check and are trained by Instacart.
"The only other thing is people's initial hesitation with using Instacart is they don't understand how a shopper is going to pick the things that I like or how are they going to pick the produce that I like, which is understandable," Murdock said. "But our shoppers are trained and given a lot of resources. This is their job and they really do take pride in it."
Instacart was founded in 2012 and has expanded to over 90 markets nationwide, partnering with national retailers as well as local and regional grocers.
The startup recently finished raising $400 million, according to multiple reports, and has been accelerating its expansion across the country. The company said earlier this year it wants to be able to deliver groceries to 80 percent of U.S. households by 2018.
Instacart isn't the first company to offer grocery delivery service in Little Rock. Google Express also offers service to most of the state with orders arriving between one and three days, according to its website.
"Instacart's viability relies on it forging alliances with retailers, and it's having no trouble doing so as retailers outsource more convenience capabilities," said Carol Spieckerman, a retail expert and president of Spieckerman Retail. "Platforms like Instacart are able to operate in a brand-agnostic way, building business with competing retailers rather than promising exclusives. This is the secret sauce that actually makes it more valuable to retailers and allows Instacart to scale quickly."
Online grocery shopping is gaining popularity, leading retailers to explore convenience options to cater to consumer demands. A study conducted by the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen earlier this year projected that online grocery spending between 2016-2025 would grow from about 4.3 percent of annual U.S. consumer sales to about 20 percent, or $100 billion.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. continues to roll out its grocery pickup service, which gives customers a chance to order items online, drive to the store and have them taken to their cars by employees. The retailer is also partnering with Uber and Lyft on a grocery delivery test in Phoenix and Denver.
Wal-Mart also is testing an automated grocery service in Warr Acres, Okla. The service, which is available 24 hours a day, allows customers to place grocery orders online then collect them at a kiosk.
Amazon.com has been making inroads in the online grocery space as well, and the company recently made a major move earlier this year when it acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.
Aldi took its first step into online grocery as well Monday, partnering with Instacart on a grocery delivery test that will take place in Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta, with the potential of future expansion.
Instacart deliveries
Instacart will make deliveries to the following central Arkansas locations:
Faulkner County -- Conway, Gold Creek, Lollie, Saltillo, Mayflower and Preston.
Grant County -- Tull.
Lonoke County -- South Bend.
Pulaski County -- American Manor, Blue Hill, Cammack Village, College Station, Crystal Hill, Gibson, Gravel Ridge, Ironton, Jacksonville, Jeffrey, Landmark, Little Rock, Macon, Marche, Maumelle, McAlmont, North Little Rock, Rixey, Sherwood, Sweet Home, Woodyardville and Wrightsville.
Saline County -- Alexander, Avilla, Bauxite, Benton, Brooks, Bryant, Haskell, Kentucky, Salem, Sardis, Shannon Hills and Shaw.
"People are increasingly more and more crunched for time and, as a result, they become more conscious of how they spend their time," Murdock said. "The great thing about Instacart is it allows you to get your products that you love from your favorite local store and also gets your time back in your busy week."
Business on 08/15/2017