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Rite Aid goes all in with Instacart delivery

Chainwide same-day service includes groceries, health products but not prescriptions

Russell Redman

May 15, 2020

2 Min Read
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Rite Aid said that the Instacart rollout will bring home delivery service “during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond” to the pharmacy retailer’s more than 2,400 stores in 18 states.Rite Aid

Rite Aid has partnered with Instacart to offer same-day delivery of groceries and over-the-counter health care products through all of its drugstores.

Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid said this week that the Instacart rollout will bring home delivery service “during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond” to the pharmacy retailer’s more than 2,400 stores in 18 states. Rite Aid had recently expanded a pilot with Instacart in the Northwest.

The Instacart service excludes prescriptions. Rite Aid customers will be able to access the drug chain’s full catalog of grocery and health care products and daily essentials from their local store.

“At Rite Aid, we are focused on providing our customers and communities with the essentials they need during these unprecedented times,” Jim Peters, chief operating officer at Rite Aid said in a statement. “To further enhance our services, we have teamed up with Instacart to offer our customers another convenient method of shopping at Rite Aid from the safety and comfort of home.”

In Rite Aid stores, an Instacart personal shopper will pick, pack and deliver orders within the customer’s selected time frame, offering an alternative to in-store shopping, the companies noted. All Instacart orders now default to “leave at my door delivery” to promote social distancing and allow customers to receive deliveries safely.

Related:Publix launches same-day delivery of prescriptions

Rite Aid has expanded its food offering in recent years, including more perishables and a larger selection of private-label items. Some of the drug chain’s locations, especially in urban markets, carry a higher percentage of food products and serve as neighborhood grocery destinations. For the 2020 fiscal year, Rite Aid’s consumables sales totaled an estimated $5.09 billion, nearly a third of the company’s retail segment sales.

“We know people and families are depending on delivery to get their groceries and household essentials now more than ever, and we’re proud to partner with Rite Aid to offer customers another stay-at-home shopping alternative in the wake of COVID-19,” stated Nilam Ganenthiran, president of Instacart. “Bringing Rite Aid’s broad selection of health care and grocery products online will give customers more access to the goods they need, delivered directly from the store to their door.”

Rite Aid already offers curbside pickup and home delivery of prescriptions, as well as drive-thru service. San Francisco-based Instacart has made a foray into prescription delivery with Costco Wholesale, launching a pilot last fall in California and Washington and then in April rolling out the service to about 200 warehouse clubs in those two states plus Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia. Last week, Instacart reported that its prescription delivery service is now available at all of Costco’s 547 pharmacies in 42 states and D.C.

Related:Instacart moves forward with pharmacy partnership at Costco

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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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