SAN FRANCISCO, CA - This week is undeniably Instacart’s week. Only a few days ago, Forbes revealed that Instacart reached 57 percent of weekly market share, surpassing some of the most recognizable grocery delivery players like Walmart, Amazon, and Target-owned Shipt. Part of its success can be attributed to the high demand for grocery delivery, while another part is thanks to its operational model, which relies on partnerships with major grocery chains like Costco, Kroger, Albertsons, and more.
"COVID-19 created a massive shift for the grocery industry and forever changed how people view the necessity of on-demand services. Overnight, Instacart became an essential service for millions of families across North America and our teams have worked incredibly hard to safely serve customers and shoppers during this time of need,” said Apoorva Mehta, Founder and CEO of Instacart.
On top of this shuffling of the retail sector’s top grocery delivery leaders, Instacart also announced it has raised $225 million as part of a new financing round led by DST Global, General Catalyst, and D1 Capital Partners, which increases its valuation to $13.7 billion. In a press release, the company noted that this investment fans more wind beneath its wings—wind that has mostly taken the form of an unprecedented surge in consumer demand for grocery delivery and pickup.
Today, Instacart partners with 400 national, regional, and local retailers across more than 30,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Now, with growth bolstering its standing in the market, the company is looking to deploy its recent capital investment with new services, features, and business ventures.
“We have ambitious plans for the future and this new investment enables us to deepen our support for our shoppers and partners, further fund strategic initiatives such as our advertising and enterprise businesses, and continue to deliver exceptional experiences for customers,” continued Mehta. “This pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the way people think about grocery and e-commerce, and we're proud to have Instacart continue to play an important role in people's lives now and long after this crisis subsides.”
For more information on Instacart’s latest funding round, click here.
As it continues to scale its operations and double its business, how will Instacart shake up the grocery delivery subsector of retail? AndNowUKnow will continue to follow along with the latest updates.
