Instacart, the North American leader in online grocery, today announced its entry into prescription delivery in response to the growing customer demand for grocery, household goods and personal healthcare delivery. Instacart’s prescription delivery service is now available from nearly 200 Costco locations across Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, Washington and Washington D.C., with plans to expand nationally in the coming months.
“Instacart has become an essential service for millions of consumers who are relying on us in the wake of COVID-19 to get the groceries and household goods they need from the retailers they love like Costco. For many people, we know that part of their grocery shopping experience goes beyond fresh produce, meat, seafood and pantry staples, and also includes getting much-needed medications,” said Nilam Ganenthiran, President of Instacart. “We’re proud to partner with Costco to make online prescription delivery possible for consumers during this critical time. With our total order volume up more than 400% year-over-year last week, and more people than ever turning to Instacart, we want to continue to bring all the aisles of the grocery store online to better serve customers.”
Instacart’s prescription delivery service allows Costco customers to complete their entire shopping trip online – from groceries and household goods to prescription medications – and have it delivered to their door. Following a multi-store pilot in Southern California and Washington state, Costco prescription delivery is now available from nearly 200 Costco pharmacies across seven states and Washington D.C., with a nationwide expansion to follow in the coming months. Costco and Instacart first partnered in 2016 to offer customers the opportunity to have grocery and household goods delivered and, today, Instacart delivers from all of Costco’s more than 500 locations across the country.
Costco customers will receive a text message from their Costco pharmacy when their prescription is ready. In the text, customers will see a link with the option to schedule their prescription for delivery. Once the customer clicks the link, they will be redirected to Costco’s site, where they can confirm their prescription, sign into their Costco account and continue to add groceries and household goods to their Instacart Costco delivery order.
As part of Instacart’s continued commitment to the health and safety of the entire Instacart community, the company has also introduced contactless prescription delivery in participating states for most medications, allowing shoppers to simply scan a customer’s ID for verification without a signature. Customers ordering prescription medications from Costco via Instacart must be over the age of 18, are required to enter their date of birth at checkout and present a valid government ID at the time of delivery. Prescription orders are delivered to customers in a sealed, tamper-proof bag to ensure customer safety and privacy. Instacart’s prescription delivery service allows Costco customers to schedule delivery up to one week in advance. To ensure customers receive their prescription in a timely manner, Instacart recommends customers schedule their delivery as soon as they receive notification that their medication is available for pickup.
Instacart today partners with more than 350 beloved national, regional and local retailers to offer delivery from more than 25,000 stores – more than half of all grocery stores in North America – across more than 5,500 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Instacart delivery is currently available to more than 85% of households in the U.S. and more than 70% of households in Canada.
