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Walgreens goes national with Instacart delivery

Drug chain adds third partner for on-demand service

Russell Redman

February 23, 2021

3 Min Read
Walgreens drugstore-side.jpg
Walgreens is launching Instacart delivery at over 500 stores in Illinois, after starting in Chicago, and plans to expand service to almost 8,000 stores across the country this spring.Walgreens

Walgreens has launched Instacart same-day delivery in Illinois as a springboard to bring the service to nearly 8,000 stores over the coming weeks. 

Tens of thousands of non-prescription products — including over-the-counter medicines, health and wellness items, beauty and personal care, household staples, and convenience items — are now available for Instacart delivery at Walgreens drugstores in Illinois in as soon as an hour, Walgreens and Instacart said Tuesday. 

Plans call for the Instacart service to expand to Walgreens locations southeastern Florida, Dallas, Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C., among other major markets, in the next several weeks, with a rollout to all 50 states during the spring, the companies said. Over time, a bigger assortment of products also will become available for delivery, they added.

Walgreens Instacart app screens.jpgWalgreens customers ordering for same-day service have their items picked and delivered by Instacart personal shoppers. (Image courtesy of Instacart)

“Convenience is at the core of what we do, and Walgreens is thrilled to be partnering with Instacart to bring customers a simple and trusted same-day delivery option for the products they need right to their door,” Stefanie Kruse, vice president of digital commerce and omnichannel at Walgreens, said in a statement. “This collaboration builds upon several other recent steps in our digital transformation to deliver health expertise to customers in new channels, which is timely given shifts in customer needs during the pandemic.” 

Related:Walgreens kicks off last-mile delivery with DoorDash

To access the Instacart service, Walgreens customers go online to instacart.com/walgreens or click on the Walgreens storefront in the Instacart mobile app and then begin shopping by adding items to their virtual cart. Instacart personal shoppers pick, pack and deliver the orders. Customers can chat directly with Instacart shoppers as products are being picked and get real-time updates on the status of their order.

San Francisco-based Instacart first launched with Walgreens in Chicago in early February before expanding the service to the drug chain’s more than 500 stores in Illinois. 

The new partnership enables Instacart to offer customers nationwide “an unmatched online assortment of Walgreens items available for same-day delivery,” according to Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at the online delivery giant. 

“As one of the largest drugstore chains in the U.S., Walgreens is a trusted household brand that people have relied on for more than 100 years,” Rogers commented. “We’re excited to provide a seamless, safe and reliable experience to Walgreens customers across the country, giving them a new way to have the over-the-counter medications and health products they depend on delivered from the store to their door in as fast as an hour.”

Related:Starbucks’ Rosalind Brewer to join Walgreens Boots Alliance as CEO

For Walgreens, Instacart marks the Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer’s third on-demand delivery partner for non-prescription items. The drug chain kicked off last-mile delivery with DoorDash at over 2,300 stores in July and with Postmates (now part of Uber) at more than 7,000 stores last March. Overall, Walgreens operates more than 9,000 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Instacart now provides same-day delivery of non-prescription products for the three largest U.S. drug chains — CVS Health, Walgreens and Rite Aid — as well as Canada’s biggest drug chain, Shoppers Drug Mart (part of Loblaw Cos.). So far, Instacart provides prescription drug delivery only through Costco Wholesale in the United States, rolling out the service across the warehouse club chain’s pharmacies in May 2020 following a fall 2019 pilot

Read more about:

CostcoCVS HealthRite Aid

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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