PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2014) - Instacart (www.Instacart.com), the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, announced today that it has expanded its service to Philadelphia. Beginning today, customers can order virtually any items carried in their neighborhood Whole Foods and have them delivered in as little as one hour. Additional stores will be added in the coming weeks. Instacart will be the only same-day online grocery order and delivery option in Philadelphia.
Instacart will serve most of downtown and Northwest Philadelphia, plus a few surrounding neighborhoods: Center City, South Philadelphia, University City, Kingsessing, Cobbs Creek, Overbrook, Wynnefield, Bala Cynwyd, Wynnewood, Penn Valley, Manayunk, Roxborough, Chestnut Hill, Mt Airy, Germantown, East Falls, Nicetown, North Philadelphia, Poplar, Fairmount, Northern Liberties. In the coming months, it plans to expand its service area. For a map of Instacart's Philadelphia service area, visit www.instacart.com/locations/philadelphia. Customers can open an account at www.Instacart.com, and get free delivery on their first order of $35 or more.
Originally launched in San Francisco and since expanded into Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC and now Philadelphia, Instacart has disrupted the traditional grocery delivery space with its crowdsourced labor force dubbed "Personal Shoppers" who shop for and deliver grocery orders using their own vehicles in as little as one hour. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as inventory, warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers.
According to Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta, the company decided to expand to Philadelphia because of its growing population, vibrant downtown, and the scarcity of grocery stores in some residential areas. "We bring a high convenience factor that we think will really appeal to Philadelphians," said Mehta. Weather also played a part: Instacart has found via experience in Boston and Chicago that frequent rain or snow leads to higher order volume.
How it works:
- Customers go online to www.Instacart.com, select their city/store, add items to a virtual cart, and then choose a delivery window (within one hour, within two hours, or some scheduled time in the future) and check out.
- An Instacart Personal Shopper accepts the order on his/her smartphone, uses the Instacart Shopper app to guide them through shopping, and then delivers the order to the customer in the designated delivery timeframe.
The vast majority of Instacart customers select two-hour delivery for a charge of just $3.99. One-hour delivery is also available, for a charge of $14.99. The minimum order size is $10. For other FAQs, visit https://www.instacart.com/store#faq.
Instacart's local office will be in Center City and the company is actively recruiting for full-time Operations Managers and contracted Personal Shoppers to support its anticipated growth. To apply, visit https://www.instacart.com/jobs.
About Instacart
Instacart is the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, and is often less expensive for consumers than a personal, time-consuming trip to the grocery store. Customers in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, DC can choose from over 270,000 items from local grocery stores and large chains like Safeway, Whole Foods, Shaw's, Harris Teeter and Costco. Instacart is disrupting the traditional grocery delivery business with its approach, which utilizes a crowdsourced model of Personal Shoppers who use their own cars and smartphones to shop and deliver groceries to customers. This model eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers. Learn more at www.Instacart.com.
Contact Information:
For information, contact:
Michelle G. Faulkner
Big Swing Communications
+1 617-510-6998