Costco, Instacart Begin Prescription Delivery

Instacart has entered the prescription delivery space through its partnership with Costco. As ecommerce demand for grocery and household goods increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, the same can be said for personal healthcare delivery. 

Costco customers at approximately 200 locations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, Washington and Washington D.C. can now have their prescriptions brought to their doors.

Instacart and Costco originally piloted the service in Southern California and Washington state and now plan to expand nationally in the coming months. Instacart already delivers grocery and household goods from all Costco locations. 

“For many people, we know that part of their grocery shopping experience goes beyond fresh produce, meat, seafood and pantry staples, and also includes getting much-needed medications,” said Nilam Ganenthiran, president of Instacart. “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.”

Costco customers will receive a text message from their pharmacy when their prescription is ready. In the text, customers will see a link with the option to schedule their prescription for delivery and add groceries and household goods to their Instacart Costco delivery order. 

In a move to keep deliveries contactless during the coronavirus outbreak, shoppers in many states can scan a customer's ID for verification without a signature. Customers ordering prescription medications must be over the age of 18 and are required to enter their date of birth at checkout and present a valid government ID at the time of delivery.

Prescription orders are delivered to customers in a sealed, tamper-proof bag to ensure customer safety and privacy. To ensure customers receive their prescription in a timely manner, Instacart recommends customers schedule their delivery as soon as they receive notification that their medication is available for pickup.

Instacart has been making a number of moves to keep up with delivery during COVID-19 including hiring more shoppers and staff, and offering additional delivery options. Not all their measures, however, have come without controversy.

Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco operates 787 warehouses worldwide, including 535 in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company also has ecommerce sites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.