Instacart

Petco is joining the increasingly large group of retailers offering on-demand delivery of their products.

The specialty retailer has teamed with Instacart in a first-of-its-kind partnership in the pet industry. PetcoNow is a new service that gives pet parents the ability to have Petco products delivered directly to their door in as little as one hour.

Los Angeles – Discount grocery retailer Smart & Final is offering on-demand Instacart delivery to customers in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas. Delivery assortment encompasses Smart & Final’s full store offering, including club-sized items to stock households and offices.

Delivery will occur in as little as one hour and match Smart & Final’s normal in-store prices, excluding special offers.

Fast growing grocery delivery service Instacart is adding a value-oriented chain to its network of grocery stores.

The company announced it is teaming up with Smart & Final to allow customers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area to choose from virtually any items carried at their local Smart & Final store and have them delivered in as little as one hour.

Prices on Instacart will match Smart & Final's everyday low in-store prices, excluding special offers.

California-based regional grocery chain Raley’s Supermarkets is overhauling its e-commerce capabilities to offer customers a "seamless shopping experience."

Amazon  is facing increased competition these days. In some of the more publicized developments, subscription-based e-commerce site Jet.com is taking off soon, EBay is piloting a service to compete with Amazon Prime in Germany, and Google is reportedly planning to introduce a “buy” button that will turn searches into transactions.

Beyond the natural competition any successful business generates, there are specific factors making it more appealing than ever for retailers of all sizes to try taking on Amazon. Here are three of the most significant ones.

The seminal digital event that occurred in the year 2007 was the introduction of the first iPhone, but there was another noteworthy development that year involving Walmart e-commerce.

A few months after the iPhone made headlines, Walmart rolled out its buy online, pick up in store service branded as Site to Store and helped give meaning to the word omnichannel. In digital terms, 2007 was eons ago.

Online grocery delivery service Instacart has had to add boats to its fleet of vehicles now that the growing company has decided to launch in Miami.

Customers in Miami can now order from Whole Foods Market, Costco, Winn-Dixie, BJ'S Wholesale Club and Petco stores and have everything delivered by Instacart in as little as one hour. Instacart customers do not need a Costco or BJ's membership to shop from those stores.

San Francisco – Instacart is taking its talents to South Beach. Consumers in Miami can now use the online delivery service to order from Whole Foods Market, Costco, Winn-Dixie, BJ’S Wholesale Club and Petco stores and have everything delivered by Instacart in as little as one hour.

Instacart customers do not need a Costco or BJ’s membership to shop from those stores. Miami is the 16th city where Instacart is offering deliveries.