Dive Brief:

• Albertsons has added Uber's grocery delivery service to around 1,200 stores under several of its banners, including Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Tom Thumb and Randalls, according to an announcement on Monday.
• With the partnership, Uber’s overall grocery service leaps from 100 cities and towns to more than 400 and will be offered nationwide by the end of this year, according to a spokesperson for Uber.
• The partnership extends the availability of Albertsons’ grocery delivery on third-party marketplaces as it looks to reach more shoppers.

Dive Insight:

As grocers weigh the merits of various third-party apps, Albertsons is moving quickly to offer delivery across multiple platforms and reach as many shoppers as possible.

In addition to its Uber tie-up, which includes markets like San Francisco, Chicago and Dallas, Albertsons recently began offering delivery from close to 2,000 stores through the DoorDash app. The grocer, which saw triple-digit increases in digital sales during the pandemic, is now the largest grocery account for both Uber and DoorDash. It also offers nationwide delivery via Instacart.

These partnerships come as Albertsons has pulled back on running its own end-to-end delivery services in places like California and Texas, underscoring the profitability calculations grocers are running against recently elevated digital sales.

Meanwhile, Uber has been slow to get off the block with grocery delivery since launching the service nearly a year ago in the U.S. The deal marks a milestone in the company's journey to offer grocery and convenience delivery nationwide alongside its more mature restaurant business.

The company that made its name as a leader in ride-hailing also offers grocery delivery from Southeastern Grocers stores and the Red Apple Group, a New York City-based conglomerate that operates supermarkets. In May, Uber announced its launch of a nationwide “essentials” delivery service powered by Gopuff.

“This past year has been one of incredible growth for grocery delivery,” Raj Beri, Uber’s global head of grocery and new verticals, said in a statement. “Today nearly 3 million consumers order groceries and other essentials each month through Uber and we’re just getting started."

Uber's expansion of its grocery delivery service adds to the growing competition to Instacart — still the leading retailer partner among grocery delivery apps — as some retailers are trying to unwind their involvement with Instacart.

Online grocery sales have slowed as consumers return to stores, but the channel is still expected to bring in more than $100 billion this year, according to eMarketer.