CINCINNATI, 2017-Nov-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — Ralphs Grocery Company, a division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), today (Nov. 7, 2017) announced it is offering home delivery in select locations in Southern California through a partnership with Instacart, the technology-driven, nationwide on-demand retail delivery service.
This pilot in Southern California supports two key drivers of the company’s Restock Kroger Plan: Expand Partnerships to Create Customer Value and Redefine the Food and Grocery Customer Experience.
“Kroger’s success has always depended on our ability to evolve with our customers. Offering home delivery powered by Instacart in Southern California is another way we are accelerating our digital and ecommerce efforts to create new and highly-relevant customer experiences,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “Restock Kroger builds on our strengths, including our incredibly convenient locations and platforms for pickup and delivery within one-to-two miles of our customers.”
“The Kroger Co. is leading the way in ecommerce grocery adoption, enabling consumers across the country to have access to fresh, quality food at the push of a button,” said Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Instacart. “I’m proud that by partnering with Kroger, Instacart is solving the last frontier for the customer.”
For the past several years, Kroger has been actively experimenting with numerous digital and ecommerce models, and applying its data and customer insights expertise through 84.51°, with a focus on delivering a differentiated and personalized experience to its customers. Today across the country Kroger offers home delivery from nearly 200 store locations in partnership with service providers including Shipt, deliv, Roadie, Uber, and others. This is in addition to the company’s ClickList and Harris Teeter ExpressLane locations – Kroger’s personalized, order-online service – now available to customers in more than 900 stores. This service will be available in more than 1,000 locations by the end of the year. In Kroger’s third quarter, reported on September 8, 2017, digital revenue was up 126%, driven by ClickList sales.
The company plans to pilot Ralphs delivery Powered by Instacart in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Thousand Oaks and Beach communities by the end of November.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are 450,000 associates who serve nearly nine million customers daily in 2,793 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized order online service – in addition to 2,258 pharmacies, 783 convenience stores, 307 fine jewelry stores, 222 retail health clinics, 1,472 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America’s most generous companies for our support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.
About Instacart
Instacart helps people cross grocery shopping off their to-do lists with just a few clicks. Customers use the Instacart website or app to fill their virtual shopping cart with items from their favorite, local stores and Instacart connects them with shoppers who hand pick the items and deliver them straight to their door. Founded in San Francisco in 2012, Instacart has quickly scaled to over 150 markets nationwide and partnered with retailers across the United States, including popular national chains as well as local, regional grocers. By combining a personal touch with cutting-edge technology, Instacart offers customers a simple solution to save time and eat fresh food from the most trusted grocery brands. Instacart is the only grocery service that can meet today’s on-demand lifestyle by delivering in as little as one hour. First delivery is free at www.instacart.com.
SOURCE: The Kroger Co.