Dive Brief:
- Petsense, a pet supply company owned by Tractor Supply Co., has selected Instacart as its exclusive same-day delivery partner, according to an Aug. 25 press release.
- Instacart can deliver Petsense orders in as fast as an hour with no markups, per the release, and the service is now currently available. Petsense has more than 130 stores nationwide.
- The move marks an expansion of Tractor Supply and Instacart's existing relationship, as Tractor Supply announced in July that same-day deliveries via Instacart would be available from over 2,400 of the retailer's stores.
Dive Insight:
Retailers have been expanding their same-day delivery options by partnering with providers such as Instacart and DoorDash for quite some time.
Ulta partnered with Instacart last year to offer customers same-day delivery from over 1,400 stores. More recently, Gap, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble and Carter’s partnered with DoorDash to enable shoppers to order and receive goods in a quick timeframe.
While Tractor Supply also partners with same-day providers, the retailer is betting big on its own delivery capabilities, too. The company has been advancing an initiative to make more last-mile deliveries in-house.
“Final mile remains one of our most compelling growth opportunities with customer adoption continuing to exceed our expectations and economics improving as we scale the business,” President and CEO Hal Lawton said in a Q2 earnings call from July.
As of April, the retailer aimed to add 176 new hub locations, which bring drivers and inventory from different facilities for deliveries to nearby customers. By scaling its last-mile delivery program, Tractor Supply aims to lower costs per delivery. The company is focused on delivering larger and bulkier items itself, while relying on delivery partners for small and medium-sized items.
