Instacart Rolls Out RX Delivery Service With Costco

Due to increasing customer demand for household goods, grocery and personal healthcare delivery, Instacart said it has rolled out a new prescription delivery service with Costco. The offering is now available from almost 2,000 stores in California, New York and Illinois, among other states, with plans to grow throughout the country in the months to come, according to an announcement.

The prescription delivery service of Instacart lets customers of Costco finish their complete shopping trip through the web and comes after a multi-state experiment in Washington and California. Instacart and Costco first teamed up in 2016 to let customers have the chance to receive deliveries of household goods and groceries.

Instacart President Nilam Ganenthiran said in an announcement, “We’re proud to partner with Costco to make online prescription delivery possible for consumers during this critical time. With our total order volume up more than 400% year-over-year last week, and more people than ever turning to Instacart, we want to continue to bring all the aisles of the grocery store online to better serve customers.”

When their prescriptions are ready, shoppers will get a text message from their Costco pharmacy. The text will provide shoppers with a link that offers the choice to schedule a prescription for delivery. After clicking on their links, customers will be sent to the Costco website. There, they will have the ability to confirm their orders, sign into their account at Costco and add groceries as well as household items to their delivery orders.

Prescription orders are sent to customers in a tamper-proof bag that is sealed for privacy and safety. And the Costco shoppers can ask for delivery a maximum of one week in advance with the offering. As it stands, Instacart partners with over 350 local, regional, and national retailers to provide delivery from over 25,000 stores.

Separately, news surfaced last month that Instacart will bring on 300,000 additional full-service shoppers to support cities nationwide. Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta said in an announcement at the time, “As more people look for immediate, flexible earnings opportunities during this time, we hope that Instacart can be an additional source of income for those looking to earn while also delivering for the communities in which they live.”