Instacart Brings Same-Day Grocery Delivery Service to Chicago

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 17, 2013) - Instacart (www.Instacart.com), the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, announced today that it has expanded to Chicago. Today, items from Trader Joe's can be ordered and delivered by an Instacart personal shopper. Additional items from Dominick's, Whole Foods and Costco will be added in the coming weeks, allowing customers to combine items from all four stores into one order and have them delivered on the same day. Customers can open a free account at www.Instacart.com, and get free delivery on their first order.

Instacart is the first company in Chicago to offer same-day delivery service from Trader Joe's, and will soon offer the broadest selection and lowest prices of any other grocery delivery service in the Chicago area.

Originally launched in San Francisco, Instacart has disrupted the traditional grocery delivery space with its crowd-sourced labor force dubbed "Personal Shoppers" who shop for and deliver grocery orders using their own vehicles in as little as one hour. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers.

Instacart keeps careful track of the price, location and availability of thousands of individual grocery items in the local stores in which it shops to help its Personal Shoppers be as efficient as possible and enable rapid delivery. The service quickly became a favorite among San Franciscans for its convenience, speed and value.

Instacart recently closed an $8.5M Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital and others, stating that it would use the funds for geographic expansion. Chicago is the first of 10 major cities Instacart plans to expand into by the end of 2014.

"We look for urban areas with tech-savvy consumers who may not have cars and value convenience," said Apoorva Mehta, CEO and founder of Instacart. "Chicago fit the bill. We're really excited to expand our footprint beyond San Francisco. There's a lot more to come."

Instacart has already signed on and trained a number of Personal Shoppers in Chicago. Chicago-area residents interested in learning more about becoming a Personal Shopper can visit www.Instacart.com/shoppers.

The service is available in 13 Chicago neighborhoods: Lake View, Lincoln Park, Logan Square, West Town, Near West Side, Lower West Side, Near North Side, Loop, Near South Side; plus portions of Douglas, Bridgeport, Amour Square, and McKinley Park. Consumers can visit www.Instacart.com for a full map of Instacart's Chicago-area coverage and sign up for their free Instacart accounts.

About Instacart
Instacart is the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, and is often less expensive for consumers than a personal, time-consuming trip to the grocery store. Customers can choose from a variety of local stores including Safeway, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco, and can mix items from multiple stores into one order. Instacart is disrupting the traditional grocery delivery business with its approach, which utilizes a crowdsourced model for Personal Shoppers and needs no warehouses or trucks. Learn more at www.Instacart.com.