Mercatus Rolls Out Instacart Connect Integration

Grocery e-commerce solution provider Mercatus is now offering the Instacart Connect integration to its retail clients, with the aim of helping grocers enhance their online grocery experience.

The integration with Instacart Connect enables Mercatus-powered grocery retailers to make use of the Instacart fulfillment infrastructure to pick, pack and deliver orders, without ceding control over the customer relationship. Now consumers can go directly to their preferred grocer’s e-commerce site to order groceries, rather than going through the Instacart marketplace for their delivery service.

The order is then routed from the retailer-owned site to Instacart, which sends an Instacart shopper to pick, pack and deliver the order to the customer. Through the integration, Mercatus combines the grocer’s owned commerce channels with the labor flexibility of the Instacart fulfillment workforce, while giving grocers more control over the shopping experience and, more importantly, the ability to retain hard-won customer relationships.

“We know that building digital connections that result in a more-lasting customer loyalty is vital to ensuring grocers have a healthier, more valuable e-commerce proposition,” noted Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO of Toronto-based Mercatus. “Grocers that own the customer connections and control more elements when a customer shops online, like assortment, pricing, promotions, upsells, time slots and customer service, are in a much better position to create stronger bonds via a more seamless experience.”

The new fulfillment capability employs application programming interface (API) software to integrate Instacart Connect with Mercatus’ grocery e-commerce platform. The option allows retailers to develop more meaningful connections beyond a merely functional or transactional relationship, and permits resource-strapped grocers to meet surging demand at peak times without heavy investment in onboarding and expanding their existing in-store teams.

Mercatus’ network of more than 50 integration partners enables grocers to work with their partners of choice. The platform is used by such North American grocers as Weis Markets (No. 60 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America); Save Mart (No. 51), Brookshire Grocery Co. (No. 62); WinCo Foods (no. 44); Smart & Final (No. 59); and Stater Bros. Markets (No. 54).