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C&S Wholesale, Instacart team up to bring online grocery to 3,000 independents

Grocery distributor will help bring its network of independent grocers onto the Instacart online marketplace

Russell Redman

June 4, 2020

3 Min Read
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C&S Wholesale Grocers and Instacart will work closely to help retailers build an e-commerce and delivery offering customized to their consumer base.Instacart

C&S Wholesale Grocers has partnered with Instacart to offer e-commerce and same-day delivery solutions to more than 3,000 independent supermarket retailers nationwide.

San Francisco-based Instacart said Thursday that, under the alliance, C&S will help bring its network of independent grocers onto the Instacart online marketplace. The companies will work closely to help retailers build an e-commerce and delivery offering customized to their consumer base. Pickup service also is expected to be offered later on.

“C&S is proud to provide our retail partners with the ability to move their businesses online,” Corey Quiring, vice president of retail services at Keene, N.H.-baed C&S. “Now more than ever before, shoppers need the safety and convenience of online shopping and home delivery. Instacart’s services are unparalleled in providing a seamless shopping experience.”

Once a C&S independent grocer is live on the Instacart marketplace, customers then can visit the Instacart website or download the Instacart mobile app to access the service. After entering their city and selecting their store location, they can begin adding items to their virtual cart. An Instacart personal shopper then picks, packs and delivers the order within the designated time frame, which can be on the same day or scheduled in advance for up to two weeks.

Related:Instacart launches in-app safety hub for personal shoppers

To promote social distancing amid the COVID-19 crisis, Instacart defaults all orders to “Leave at My Door” delivery so customers can receive their groceries in a contactless fashion.

“Connecting local grocers to their customers online is incredibly important to Instacart, and today the need for this is more important than ever,” according to Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart. “It’s critical that families have access to groceries and goods from the retailers they love and trust. By partnering with C&S, we’re able to bring more independently owned grocers online and ensure the communities they serve can more easily access the household essentials they need.”

The nation’s largest grocery distributor, C&S supplies more than 7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 137,000 products. Currently, Instacart has more than 350 national, regional and local retailer partners and delivers from 25,000-plus stores across more than 5,500 cities in the United States and Canada. 

Instacart’s partnership with C&S marks its second pact with a major U.S. grocery wholesaler to reach independent supermarkets. In June 2018, Instacart and Supervalu unveiled a reseller agreement in which the Minneapolis-based distributor, now part of United Natural Foods Inc., could offer online shopping and on-demand delivery services to the 3,300-plus independent grocers it supplies as well as to stores in areas where Instacart operates.

Related:Supervalu inks reseller pact with Instacart

With online grocery orders surging amid the coronavirus pandemic, Instacart recently has ramped up its base of personal shoppers to meet skyrocketing demand. In late April, the company said it aims to hire an additional 250,000 full-service personal shoppers, a month after announcing plans to hire 300,000 new full-service shoppers, which expanded its shopper community to more than 500,000 people. At the time, Instacart reported that order volume had jumped more than 500% year over year, with the average customer basket size growing 35%.

And online grocery sales have continued to boom. Strategic advisory firm Brick Meets Click last week reported that online grocery sales climbed 24% month-over-month to $6.6 billion in May. That gain followed a 37% jump in April to $5.3 billion from $4 billion in March.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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