Instacart Launches Suite of Enterprise Tech
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"The grocery industry is undergoing a digital transformation where customers expect a seamless experience across many channels, but behind the scenes it's taking an incredible amount of work and investment for retailers to deliver these new services," said Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart, in the release. "We're looking to change that with Instacart Platform."
"Instacart Platform continues to fuel our omnichannel strategy, powering delivery and curbside pickup across our markets. Our partnership also enables Publix to serve customers in new ways, solving for additional customer use cases by enabling meals delivery and virtual convenience," said Maria Brous, director of communications at Publix, in the release. "Our new NFCs, built with Instacart Platform, unlock ultrafast delivery in our major metro areas, allowing customers to get what they need in as fast as 15 minutes. We are eager to continue to test and iterate on these new concepts as consumer needs continue to evolve."
Online grocery giant Instacart has launched a new suite of fulfillment, advertising and insights capabilities to help make it easier for its retail partners to deliver better omnichannel experiences.
Through Instacart Platform, the company is giving retailers including Publix, Aldi, Schnuck Markets, Good Food Holdings and Plum Market access to the technologies behind Instacart's consumer marketplace to power their own digital properties and retail operations. Instacart Platform brings together enterprise technologies that can help retailers improve the consumer experience online or in-store and digitize the end-to-end grocery operation.
Retailers can choose to use some of these technologies a la carte, while others may opt to have all the solutions on one connected platform that works seamlessly across channels, according to a news release from the company. Instacart Platform is comprised of:
- E-commerce: Digital storefronts custom-built for grocers and a-la-carte recommendation and merchandising capabilities.
- Fulfillment: Solutions for grocers to do online delivery and pickup from stores or warehouses, from 15-minute to next-day delivery.
- In-store: Digital integrations and connected hardware to enhance the brick-and-mortar store experience, from scanless carts to technology that helps manage operations.
- Ads: Advertising solutions to help brands connect and engage with consumers in the digital aisles.
- Insights: Data tools to help retailers optimize operations, provide more connected experiences and make informed business decisions.
Instacart has also launched three new important capabilities as part of Instacart Platform, including:
- Carrot Ads brings together the best of Instacart advertising, including the company's technology, products, engineering and sales talent and data insights to retailers' owned and operated e-commerce sites. Carrot Ads offers new monetization capabilities, including revenue share models, to create an additional source of profit for retailers. Instacart is currently piloting its new ad service with select retailers, including Schnuck Markets, Good Food Holdings and Plum Market, with plans to roll it out more broadly later this year.
- Carrot Warehouses helps retailers create more flexible, local fulfillment models to unlock capabilities such as 15-minute ultrafast delivery. As a full-stack solution within Instacart Platform, Instacart works with retailers to enable end-to-end fast delivery solutions customized to their needs, including building new nano-fulfillment centers (NFCs), devising floor plans, establishing automation services and running ongoing operations. Carrot Warehouses will power 15-minute ultrafast delivery for Publix customers in Atlanta and Miami over the coming months.
- Carrot Insights gives retailers near real-time visibility into their operations to help them make informed, proactive business decisions. Carrot Insights dashboards track key performance and operational metrics such as order volumes and out of stocks across Instacart Platform and retailers' own Instacart app storefronts. Instacart's new data analytics software helps retailers better understand geographic sales, out of stocks and customer buying trends. Carrot Insights is helping retailers like Key Food manage and optimize their omnichannel operations and is live today for all Instacart Platform customers.
