Grocery giant Kroger announced on Tuesday (Sept. 14) that it is launching “Kroger Delivery Now” in partnership with Instacart. The delivery service, which fulfills online convenience orders within 30 minutes, is available across the United States, both through Kroger’s digital ordering platforms and through Instacart’s new “Convenience Hub,” which was also announced on Tuesday.
The Convenience Hub, available in most major U.S. cities, offers delivery on convenience store goods at all hours, with 30-minute delivery available to Instacart Express for purchases of $10 or more.
The Background
In May, Instacart first announced its “Priority Delivery” 30-minute deliveries, with Kroger-owned stores included in this early launch. This first phase included only a handful of markets, spanning 300 stores in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The feature comes as a range of ultra-fast e-grocery delivery options emerge, all making a play to be the most immediate option in the space.
See also: Instacart Announces 30-Minute Delivery as eGrocers Race for Fastest Fulfillment
For its part, Kroger has been investing heavily in its digital presence, touting its strong eCommerce performance each quarter, getting savvier about data-informed personalization and partnering with ghost kitchen provider Kitchen United to bring virtual restaurants to its stores.
Related news: Kroger Brings Ghost Kitchens to Stores With Kitchen United Partnership
What Consumers Are Saying
Consumers increasingly expect on-demand convenience when shopping online for groceries. A survey of over 5,200 consumers featured in PYMNTS’ report “The Bring-It-To-Me Economy,” a collaboration with Carat from Fiserv, found that 57% of consumers are now ordering groceries online, and 46% are doing so more often than before the start of the pandemic.
Read more: New Study: Bring-It-to-Me Economy Ascends as Consumers Embrace Home-Centric Lifestyles
Speedy fulfillment is a great way to get consumers to utilize e-grocery options. Data from the PYMNTS study “What Consumers Expect From Their Grocery Shopping Experiences,” created in collaboration with ACI Worldwide, found that in June, 59% of consumers shopping for online grocery cited the speed of the channel as a motivating factor, and 76% cited convenience. These numbers are on the rise: In October 2020, these percentages were only at 37 and 60, respectively.
More details: Digital Features Can Help Grocers Win Over 43% of Shoppers
What the Experts Are Saying
“In the years leading up to and during the pandemic, there was a ton of growth and investment in the space. Now, demand is greater than ever for giving customers access to their immediate needs,” Ashwin Wadekar, chief of staff at online grocer Gorillas, which delivers orders within 10 minutes, told PYMNTS in an interview. “What began as an early adopter trend pre-pandemic and suddenly became a necessity as lockdowns hit has now turned into something consumers see as customary when it comes to their grocery shopping experience.”
You may also like: Gorillas Aims to Bring eGrocery Into the Future With Lightning-Fast Delivery
While the pandemic may have given grocers a boost, both in terms of their eCommerce channels and their physical stores, they are at risk of losing the customers they gained in 2020 now that many are returning to away-from-home dining options.
As John Ross, president and CEO of the Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA), told Karen Webster, “As grocers, we now have to make sure to earn that continued loyalty. We can’t just merchandise the same way we did before and expect them to continue to do it once all the restaurants are back.”
Read more: IGA CEO: As Restaurants Reopen, Grocers Have to Earn Consumers’ Business
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