Grocery technology company Instacart is moving on to bigger and better things — including furniture.
The company is launching Big & Bulky nationwide, a new fulfillment capability that allows for same-day and scheduled delivery of large items, “helping retailers offer more of their catalogs online to consumers,” according to a release.
Big Lots, Container Store, Mastermind Toys, Office Depot, Spirit Halloween and Staples are some of the first retailers to use Instacart’s new Big & Bulky fulfillment solution, which means same-day delivery of outdoor furniture, home office supplies, electronics and more through the Instacart App and select retailers’ Instacart Platform-powered websites.
With Big & Bulky, customers can order their grocery items and household goods – like grilling items, beverages, printer ink or packing tape – directly alongside large item orders for delivery at the same time.
“By introducing Big & Bulky, consumers can now access an even wider selection of items for same-day delivery. With football season just around the corner, Instacart’s Big & Bulky solution can provide customers with items like portable grills and tents for a tailgate or a 55″ TV in case they’re watching from home — all in as fast as an hour,” says Daniel Danker, Chief Product Officer at Instacart. “As a retail enablement partner, our goal is to support retailers’ bottom lines by expanding their online catalogs through our enterprise solutions. We’re excited to introduce Big & Bulky today and look forward to continuing to serve as an industry-leading fulfillment platform.”
For Big & Bulky orders, Instacart shoppers who drive large vehicles can opt-in to shop batches with large items, and Instacart says its the company’s latest example of “dedication to maximizing shoppers’ earnings potential, an initiative that furthers the company’s ingredients to earn on your terms commitment that was announced earlier this year. Instacart’s shopper community responded positively to the new offering — in pilot regions, 97% of shoppers with eligible vehicles opted in to shop bulky batches.”
The fulfillment technology behind Big & Bulky is powered by Carrot Delivery, an Instacart Platform enterprise solution, providing end-to-end fulfillment for retailers. With this technology, retailers can further meet customer demand by delivering signature large items, further streamline their fulfillment pipelines and build incremental revenue.
Carrot Delivery powers a number of different fulfillment options, including same-day delivery, long-range delivery, last mile delivery and more. To check out the Big & Bulky hub, visit www.instacart.com/store/hub/big_and_bulky.
