Dive Brief:

• Ahold Delhaize's Food Lion, Hannaford, and Giant Food banners have launched 30-minute delivery through Instacart's Convenience Hub, the e-commerce provider said in a blog post on Tuesday.
• The arrangement follows The Giant Company and Stop & Shop unveiling earlier this fall agreements to use the Instacart convenience delivery service.
• Ahold Delhaize's expanded relationship with Instacart follows the Dutch company's recent announcement that it will look to e-commerce as a primary growth driver during the coming years.

Dive Insight:

With the expansion, more than 1,400 of Ahold Delhaize's 2,000-plus U.S. grocery stores now offer convenience delivery via Instacart, according to the blog post.

Instacart did not specify the fees it will charge customers of the newly launched virtual convenience storefronts, which will give shoppers quick access to a range of last-minute essentials, nor the number of items they will offer.

When The Giant Company launched 30-minute delivery service under its Giant and Martin's banners with Instacart in September, the grocer said it would offer about 20,000 items through the channel, have a $10 minimum order requirement and charge a $2.99 fee, with members of Instacart Express eligible for free delivery. Stop & Shop, which unveiled the service in October, has the same fee structure for the service, which provides access to more than 30,000 products.

Instacart began working with Ahold Delhaize in 2019 and added alcohol delivery from the Dutch retailer's U.S. stores the following year. The company also counts Kroger and Publix among the grocery chains for which it provides 30-minute convenience delivery service. 

Long known for same-day and two-hour delivery, Instacart unveiled its 30-minute service in May. The company's convenience delivery business, which began with about 300 supermarkets in 15 cities, is more than twice as large now as it was in June, Instacart Vice President of Retail Chris Rogers said in the blog post.

Instacart faces robust competition as it looks to plant its flag deeper in the convenience delivery space. Its rivals include fast-growing e-commerce upstart Gopuff, which offers delivery of instant needs items in 30 minutes or less in over 1,000 cities, including New York City, where it began operations in October. Instacart also must contend with the challenge posed by DoorDash, which announced on Monday that it's entering the ultrafast delivery sector with its DashMart brand, and by the slew of rapid delivery firms offering service in 20 minutes or less. 

Meanwhile, Ahold Delhaize has also recently indicated that it's considering developing its own high-speed delivery capability.