Same-day home delivery of groceries will come to Chattanooga's Publix supermarkets sometime in the next five months through Instacart, a website and app that hires shoppers who "hand pick items and deliver them straight to the customer's door."
The partnership, which has been underway in some markets - including Knoxville and Nashville in Tennessee - is being expanded over the next five months, including to Chattanooga, the companies announced Wednesday.
"We selected Instacart because we knew their approach and expertise would deliver a high-quality experience for our customers," Publix Chief Information Officer Laurie Douglas said in a statement Wednesday. "The overwhelming response of our customers has proven that Instacart and Publix are a strong and dynamic team. We are excited to take the next steps in building our unique relationship to dramatically grow the service in our markets."
Instacart says it helps people cross grocery shopping off their to-do lists "with just a few clicks." Customers use the Instacart website or app to create their shopping lists from local stores, and Instacart connects them with shoppers who hand pick the items on their list and deliver them straight to their door.
The cost for the service in Atlanta is $149 a year or $14.99 per month.
Founded in San Francisco in 2012, Instacart is now in more than 60 markets nationwide and has partnered with retailers across the United States, including national chains as well as local, regional grocers.
"Publix has an industry-leading reputation for customer service, operational excellence and caring for its communities," said Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart. "We are excited by the opportunity to bring Publix same-day deliveries to more customers across the Southeast."
Mehta, 30, had 20 failed startups before he founded Instacart, according to a January article in the Los Angeles Times.
Instacart and Publix now deliver in Florida (Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach), Georgia (Atlanta), South Carolina (Columbia), North Carolina (Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh) and Tennessee (Knoxville and Nashville). Instacart has created nearly 2,800 new jobs in those regions.
Publix, with Instacart, will expand the existing service over the next five months to bring Publix grocery delivery to markets in Alabama (Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery), Florida (Cape Coral, Crestview, Ft. Pierce, Gainesville and Panama City), Georgia (Albany, Augusta, Macon and Savannah), North Carolina (Asheville, High Point, Wilmington and Winston-Salem), South Carolina (Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head Island, Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg), Tennessee (Chattanooga) and Virginia (Richmond). By 2020, Publix and Instacart are committed to offering same-day home delivery from all Publix market areas.
Publix in 2015 announced it would introduce Shipt, an Alabama app-based grocery delivery service, to the Chattanooga market. Meanwhile, Walmart and Food City offer curbside pickup of groceries at a number of Chattanooga-area stores.
Publix, one of the nation's biggest employee-owned firms with 2016 sales of $34 billion, currently operates 1,147 stores, including five in Hamilton County.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu @timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.