Instacart to expand services in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties
Instacart is bringing its grocery delivery service to 1 million additional households in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
The expansion, rolling out Tuesday, reflects demand in a region where Instacart already serves nearly 2 million households, said Instacart senior regional director Sean Twersky.
“Not only do we see demand but we think we are at a point where we have great relationships with our partners and can really expand without losing the quality our customers are accustomed to,” Twersky said.
The company will bring on an additional 300 shoppers to help fill the orders.
The 5-year-old San Francisco company built its business by partnering with brick-and-mortar stores — including Stater Bros., Smart & Final, Costco, Petco and Whole Foods — and contracting with shoppers who collect the items and delivery drivers who drop orders off at a customer’s home or office in less than an hour.
Amazon announced plans to purchase Whole Foods this summer for $13.7 billion — a potential blow to Instacart, which counts Whole Foods as an early partner.
Tuesday’s expansion is a sign Instacart isn’t backing down.
“From the beginning, we’ve been committed to helping grocers compete online,” an Instacart spokesperson said in an email. “That’s more important than ever given Amazon just declared war on every supermarket and corner store in America.”
Whole Foods now accounts for less than 10% of Instacart’s business.
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