Online grocery platform Instacart has joined forces with Dollar Tree, Inc. to offer same-day delivery in as little as one hour from close to 7,000 Dollar Tree stores, according to a Thursday (Oct. 28) press release.
The partnership provides about 98 million U.S. households with access to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar’s various goods, ranging from household items to seasonal decorations and party supplies, baby essentials, health and beauty items and school supplies, available for delivery from roughly 13,000 locations, according to the announcement.
Instacart now teams with more than 700 national, regional and local merchants to deliver items from more than 65,000 stores, the release states.
“When it comes to major household expenses, we know every dollar counts,” said Carolyn Everson, Instacart president. “That’s why we’re proud to expand our footprint with Dollar Tree and make same-day delivery from this beloved value retailer accessible to more families.”
Instacart and Dollar Tree first partnered to offer same-day delivery from Family Dollar in November of 2020. After a successful pilot, the companies broadened the effort to include more than 6,000 Family Dollar stores in January, and began testing same-day delivery from Dollar Tree in August. With the most recent expansion, the companies now offer same-day delivery from nearly 13,000 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores across 48 states and Washington, D.C.
Since the pandemic, the push for prompt at-home delivery of everything from groceries to takeout to convenience store items has intensified. Ben Jones, founder and CEO of eCommerce fulfillment platform Ohi, told PYMNTS recently that consumers’ expectation is to have items delivered in an hour or less.
Read more: Two-Hour Delivery Becoming ‘One of the Expectations’ for Consumers
In the so-called “bring-it-to-me economy,” consumers can have everything from beer to pumpkins delivered to their doorsteps — and not just by bikes or cars. Last week, Google and Walgreens pharmacies announced a pilot program involving drone deliveries in the Dallas-Forth Worth region in Texas.
Related news: Walgreens, Google Team up to Offer Drone Deliveries in Dallas-Fort Worth
