Instacart plays the field

Online delivery service Instacart may be deepening its relationship with organic grocer Whole Foods, but is still keeping its options open.



Instacart is now delivering goods from Landover, Maryland-based supermarket chain Giant Food to Washington, D.C., residents. Responding to customer requests, Giant is now offering home delivery via Instacart in as little as an hour to customers throughout Washington, D.C.



"We are excited to partner with Instacart and expand our convenient delivery options for Washington, D.C., customers," said Gordon Reid, president, Giant Food. "Our goal is to help our customers save money, save time and eat well and this unique pilot gives our customers the ability to shop where, when, and how they want, using Instacart in addition to our Giant store locations and Peapod delivery and pick-up services."



Giant delivery by Instacart is available to all ZIP codes throughout Washington, D.C., from Giant's participating O St. Market and Cathedral Commons locations.



"We're thrilled to partner with Giant to give our Washington, D.C., customers a new delivery option," said Vishwa Chandra, Instacart VP of business development and strategy. "As we continue to expand in this market, our customers only benefit from expanded options with brands they love and trust."



Instacart says it will continue to expand in the D.C. market and will soon have more local retailers on the platform.



This partnership demonstrates that other grocery retailers are not necessarily concerned about Instacart’s deepened relationship with Whole Foods, which will include co-developed e-commerce solutions.



In addition, the fact that Giant is adding Instacart alongside existing online delivery provider Peapod, which is generally cheaper than Instacart but also usually delivers the day after an order, shows a lot of viable growth options for Instacart. The service also recently slashed driver pay and raised customer fees. Growth appears to be the third leg in Instacart’s profit strategy.