Instacart Targets Independent Grocers for E-Commerce Growth

Delivery provider Instacart has been on a tear to enroll grocers, such as the four that adopted it as their e-commerce platform in November, and is now looking to independent grocers for expansion. Instacart Thursday said it will work with wholesale grocery Merchants Distributors LLC to reach these grocers.

Instacart, which also added pharmacy chain Walgreens as an online SNAP/EBT payment-acceptance customer in 2024, says the partnership with Hickory, N.C.-based Merchants Distributors, which also goes by MDI, means participating grocers will be able to join the Instacart App and could enable Storefront Pro, Instacart’s e-commerce platform made for grocers. Instacart’s corporate name is Maplebear Inc.

MDI says the addition of Instacart’s e-commerce platform will help its independent grocers grow their digital presences. “As a wholesaler, it’s important that we equip our retail partners with the ability to connect with customers however they shop,” Mary Kellmanson, MDI senior vice president of marketing, says in a statement. 

The four grocers from November, Sprouts, Harmons, The Save Mart Companies, and Rosauers, all use the Instacart Storefront Pro platform. Instacart also offers a basic tier Storefront service.

Among the services included in Storefront Pro are custom Web layouts, access to private-label brand boosting, third-party integrations, and a dedicated customer-service team, according to Instacart’s Web site.

In its second-quarter shareholder letter, Instacart says in the first half of 2025 it launched more than 40 new retailer sites, a marked increase over the 30 in all of 2024 and a little more than a dozen in 2023.