Celebrating One Year of Instacart Business: Saving the Day with Groceries on Demand

It’s been a year since we first introduced Instacart Business, a new way for businesses to shop on Instacart to give them more flexibility to get the last-minute– and often, unexpected– items they need to keep things running. 

As any business owner knows, unplanned needs are inevitable: perhaps you’re a coffee shop owner that runs out of oat milk or ice halfway through the morning rush, or an office manager that needs to stock up snacks and beverages when there is an unexpected spike in office attendance, or a you’re a restaurant owner whose weekly avocado delivery from your supplier has been delayed – this is where the flexibility of Instacart Business can save the day!

In the last year, millions of businesses have ordered from Instacart and many have chosen to create business profiles and make Instacart Business a part of their daily operations for flexible ordering needs just like these. From enterprise-level real estate and technology companies to local mom-and-pop restaurateurs, we’re proud to power businesses of all types.  Some of our favorite moments from the past year:

• Making in-person collaboration tastier with Industrious: Co-working network Industrious knows that the best way to encourage in-person creativity and productivity is by turning the workplace into a desirable destination. And as the official same-day snack, beverage and supplies marketplace for all Industrious coworking spaces in the U.S., Instacart Business now delivers everything from printer paper and office supplies to artisan cheese and truffles for Industrious’ famed happy hour charcuterie spreads.
• Providing an emergency fulfillment solution for growing health franchise RushBowls:  As healthy to-go meal provider RushBowls expands nation-wide and opens new locations, we’ve become their official emergency ingredients supplier platform so their local teams don’t have to run out to the store for fresh fruit or honey when demand exceeds their scheduled supplies.
• Creating convenient, comfortable and delicious work spaces with Hines: This year we were also proud to partner with Hines, a global real estate investment, development and management firm who uses Instacart to save time and unnecessary runs to the store while still bringing its tenants office treats. From stocking a selection of fruit-enhanced waters and protein drinks in its onsite fitness facilities and presenting surprise-and-delight snacks, Hines can now effortlessly secure the beloved local treats that resonate with their tenants, all delivered in as little as an hour while enjoying savings on fees and portfolio volume discounts. 

As we look forward to our next year on the job, we’re more excited than ever to find new ways to empower businesses of all sizes to take care of those, “Oh no!” needs and focus on what truly matters: serving their customers.

Partnerships to Bring More Benefits to Businesses Everywhere–With Special Offers for Mastercard SMB Cardholders

Through the partnerships we’ve forged over the past year, we’re bringing easy, time-saving same-day grocery and supply ordering to businesses everywhere.

• [New!] Even more savings for Mastercard small business cardholders: On top of the great core benefits of Instacart Business, today, we’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Mastercard to offer its eligible Mastercard BusinessCard® and World Elite Mastercard for Business® credit cardholders who are new to  Instacart+ and two-month free trial and a $20 discount on their second qualifying monthly order after completing their first qualifying monthly order.

• Bringing easy grocery delivery to vacation rentals with HostGPO: HostGPO, a membership platform for property management companies and short term vacation rental hosts, now gives its members complimentary Instacart+ access and additional benefits to aid in the management and operations of their properties, create surprise and delight opportunities for their guests, and supercharge their short-term rental businesses. 

• Reimagining employee meal benefits in a hybrid world with Sharebite: Via a partnership between Instacart Business and Sharebite, the leading corporate meal benefits platform for modern workplaces, Sharebite members now enjoy Instacart ordering benefits including same-day delivery on everything employees need to stay fueled throughout the day – from snack room essentials, to fresh charcuterie ingredients for client events, to sweet treats for work celebrations, and more. 

Last-Minute Supplies, Now Simpler and More Affordable: Introducing Instacart+ Sharing for up to Five Team Members

From supply chain issues, staffing shortages and demand planning challenges, to rising real estate prices, record-keeping headaches and the time-intensive exercise of juggling multiple suppliers– running a business these days often requires business owners to be more focused on logistics and overhead than their customers.  When we introduced Instacart Business, we set out to create a better way to make same-day business ordering as seamless, flexible and straightforward as possible. 

Over the past year, we’ve talked to thousands of business owners about the challenges they face in getting the supplies they need to run their business. In response, we’ve built a suite of business-centric features that has transformed the chore of costly, time-consuming supply runs into a few clicks or taps so purchasers can get everything delivered straight to their business, exactly when they need it. 

• [Coming soon!] Instacart+ for up to five team members: In October, we rolled out the ability for users with multiple business locations or buyers to create an unlimited number of Instacart Business accounts that can be managed from a central Admin account– no more sharing login credentials or struggling to coordinate orders. Admins can see Buyers’ total spend and all of the team’s prior orders, making monthly expensing and reconciliation a breeze. And soon, Instacart Business accounts with Instacart+ will allow up to five team members to all have access to their Instacart+ benefits , including free same-day delivery and 2% credit back on orders of $250+ at the same low $99/year membership fee.* Need more than 5 members? Contact us.

Images are illustrative and subject to change

• Tax-exempt ordering, without the manual tax refund: We’ve recently rolled out seamless tax-exempt purchasing to eligible businesses in 33 states– helping fulfill tens of thousands of tax-exempt orders in the process and allowing business owners to now streamline their business ordering and skip manual tax refunds. Qualified business owners can submit their proof of tax exemption in a few easy clicks. Once verified, eligible taxes will automatically be removed at checkout on qualifying orders.

Unmatched Business Retailer Selection– Now With New Partners

Thousands of businesses now rely on Instacart Business to get the supplies they need to keep things moving– and whether you’re an office manager, restaurant owner, educator, medical professional, retail proprietor, or something in between, Instacart Business’ expansive selection of retailers lets you order from the stores you already know and love.

• All of the best business retailers, all in one place: Instacart Business allows purchasers easy access and affordable selection from retailers they already trust – with no monthly minimums, no additional contracts to shop and same-day delivery that allows businesses to “skip the ship” on prohibitive delivery fees, bypass costly employee runs to the store, and stock only the inventory they need at a given time. 

• Shop from 85,000 stores across 1,500 local, regional and national banners, including go-to locations for restaurants, including Restaurant Depot, Chef’Store, Shamrock Foods, and Gordon Food Services– with new options being added. 

Looking Forward

Our continued conversations with business owners drive our innovation, and as we enter our second year, we’re eager to delve deeper into understanding the unique needs of businesses across different industries. Here’s to another year of saving the day with flexible ordering tools that save businesses time and money, and allow them to concentrate on what they do best—running their business.

*Subject to availability. Feature subject to change and not guaranteed. Additional terms apply.

Instacart

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.