Mercatus, a leading provider of grocery eCommerce solutions, announced today that it is now offering the Instacart Connect integration to its retail clients. The integration is yet another way that Mercatus is helping grocery retailers improve their online grocery experience.
The new Mercatus integration with Instacart Connect enables Mercatus-powered grocery retailers to tap into the Instacart fulfillment infrastructure to pick, pack and deliver orders, without giving up control over the customer relationship. Now, consumers can go directly to their preferred grocer’s eCommerce site to place their orders, instead of going through the Instacart marketplace for their delivery service.
Behind the scenes, the order is placed and then routed from the retailer-owned site to Instacart, which dispatches an Instacart shopper to pick, pack and hand off (or deliver) the order to the customer. In doing so, Mercatus combines the grocer’s owned commerce channels with the labor flexibility of the Instacart fulfillment workforce — all while giving grocers more control over the shopping experience and, more importantly, the ability to retain the customer relationships they’ve worked so hard to foster.
“We know that building digital connections that result in a more-lasting customer loyalty is vital to ensuring grocers have a healthier, more valuable eCommerce proposition,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO, Mercatus. “Grocers that own the customer connections and control more elements when a customer shops online, like assortment, pricing, promotions, upsells, time slots and customer service, are in a much better position to create stronger bonds via a more seamless experience.”
The new fulfillment capability uses Application Programming Interface (API) software to integrate Instacart Connect with the Mercatus grocery eCommerce platform. It is another example of how Mercatus offers grocers choice and flexibility, along with a range of capabilities that help them build an authentic brand experience that they control.
With the option to use Instacart Connect to build up their fulfillment program while directing shoppers to their own site powered by Mercatus, retailers are better able to develop more meaningful connections that are more than simply a functional or transactional relationship. And for resource-strapped grocers, the integration with Instacart enables them to meet surging demand at peak times without heavy investment in onboarding and expanding their existing in-store team.
