Whole Foods partners with Instacart for one-hour delivery in 15 cities

Austin, Texas - Whole Foods Market moves into the fast-growing same-day grocery-delivery space with the news that it is partnering with one-hour grocery delivery startup Instacart to have Whole Foods products delivered to customers’ homes in as little as one hour. Customers will soon also have the option to place orders via Instacart and pick up their order at a local Whole Foods store.



The two companies will pilot the in-store pickup option at select Austin and Boston stores in the next month. It’s expected that the service will be expanded into all 15 cities that Instacart currently serves: Atlanta; Austin; Boston; Boulder; Chicago; Denver; Houston; Los Angeles; New York City; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; San Jose; Seattle and Washington, D.C.



“Instacart makes it extremely easy for our customers to buy Whole Foods Market products from fifteen cities and have them quickly delivered — whether buying fresh ingredients for dinner tonight or sending healthy foods to loved ones in another city," said Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb in a joint press release Monday.



Instacart and Whole Foods expect to expand on the service in the coming months to create more solutions for online grocery shopping, delivery and pickup.



By ordering at Instacart.com or via the Instacart mobile app, Whole Foods Market customers select their ZIP code, add items to a virtual cart, and then choose a delivery window (within one hour, within two hours, or at a scheduled time) and check out. Instacart personal shoppers confirm incoming orders on their smartphones, shop for the items at Whole Foods Market stores, and then deliver orders to customers in the designated delivery timeframe.



Whole Foods Market will be the first national Instacart partner to offer convenient in-store pickup. Whole Foods Market customers will use the Instacart website or app to order and instead of specifying home delivery times, they will be able to select in-store pickup.



Via Instacart, Whole Foods Market customers can save grocery lists for fast, easy shopping and automated ordering of regularly purchased products. Instacart also offers a Whole Foods Market recipe database and other sources with the ability to auto-generate grocery lists for recipes for Whole Foods Market customers.



To celebrate the partnership, Instacart and Whole Foods Market are offering shoppers the chance to win free groceries for one year. Customers will receive hidden game pieces in Instacart delivery bags beginning Sept. 12 with five chances to win.