Sprouts, Albertsons Expand Same-Day Delivery
The same week that Minneapolis-based mass-merchandiser Target revealed plans to sever ties with delivery service Instacart, natural grocer Sprouts Farmers Market and national grocery operator Albertsons Cos. both expanded coverage as part of a larger expansion nationwide through the San Francisco-based delivery service.
Currently offering home delivery in eight cities nationwide, Sprouts is expanding delivery nationwide, beginning today with certain ZIP codes in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., today, with yet-to-be-announced markets to follow. Meanwhile, Albertsons is now offering delivery through Instacart at more than 325 Acme, Shaw’s and Star Market stores throughout New England – adding service to 6.4 million households in the expansion – with additional rollouts to take place, eventually reaching a total 1,800 stores by mid-March.
“We are excited to respond to customer demand for fast, convenient home delivery of their favorite Sprouts products in all of our major markets across the country,” said Amin Maredia, CEO of the Phoenix-based natural food grocer. “Home delivery is a natural way for Sprouts to engage with our customers on their healthy-living journey, and our partnership with Instacart allows us to quickly scale for growth.”
Albertsons first unveiled its plans to introduce same-day delivery of groceries via Instacart, including the possibility of ordering meal kits from its Plated arm, last November. The news came after other ecommerce-related initiatives from the Boise, Idaho-based grocery company, such as rolling out its Drive-Up & Go click-and-collect program, as well as its purchase of meal-kit service Plated, all said to help “reinvent the way consumers discover, purchase, receive and experience food.”
Meanwhile, Sprouts will add 30 stores across the country, ramping up competition against arguably its biggest competitor, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market, which is now owned by Seattle-based ecommerce giant Amazon. The news came two months after Phoenix-based Sprouts posted impressive Q3 earnings during the same period that Whole Foods was acquired.