Kroger and Instacart Announce Expanded Relationship, Investing in AI to Simplify Customer Experience, Improve Efficiency

Rhea-AI Summary

Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) announced an expanded relationship on Nov 4, 2025 that reaffirms Instacart as Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the Kroger app.

The deal covers fast, accurate delivery from nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners, wider access to Express Delivery (as fast as 30 minutes), AI-driven experiences including Instacart's Cart Assistant on the Kroger iOS app, and expanded retail media/CPG engagement opportunities.

Positive

• Primary delivery partner across Kroger.com and Kroger app
• Fulfillment from nearly 2,700 stores
• Express Delivery offered to customers in as fast as 30 minutes
• Launch of Instacart Cart Assistant on Kroger iOS app
• Expanded retail media opportunities for CPG

Negative

• Increased reliance on a single third-party fulfillment partner

Insights

Retail partnerships & digital experience analyst

Expanded Kroger–Instacart deal strengthens delivery scale and adds Instacart AI into Kroger's app, improving convenience and fulfillment reach.

Kroger reconfirms Instacart as its primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the Kroger app, extending coverage to nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners and increasing access to Express Delivery, which the companies say can deliver in as fast as 30 minutes. The firms will also integrate Instacart's AI Assistant, Cart Assistant, into the Kroger iOS app to support meal inspiration and faster cart building.

The business mechanism is straightforward: expanded fulfillment scale plus embedded AI drives more digital orders, higher fulfillment volume, and new monetizable retail media touchpoints for CPGs. The move leans on operational execution (store-level fulfillment), app integration, and adoption of Express Delivery and Cart Assistant to convert browsing into purchases.

Key dependencies and risks are explicit and limited to disclosed facts: successful technical integration of Cart Assistant into the Kroger iOS app, continued reliable fulfillment across ~2,700 stores, and customer uptake of expanded Express Delivery. If any of those elements falter, the expected improvements in order quality, speed, and retail-media reach would be reduced.

Watch for short-term signals of impact: rollout progress of Cart Assistant on the Kroger iOS app, measurable expansion of Express Delivery coverage, and changes in order fulfillment metrics (speed and accuracy) over the coming quarters. These items should show effects within a near-term commercial window after the announced expansion on Nov. 4, 2025.

Long-standing collaboration helps retailer reach new customers with faster delivery

CINCINNATI and SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's grocer, and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, announced an expanded relationship to continue to innovate the customer digital shopping experience. Through improved efficiency, increased access to Express Delivery and new, agentic shopping experiences, the companies are finding new ways to provide customers the fresh food, exclusive Our Brands products, and pantry staples they want when and how they want to shop.

The expanded relationship reaffirms Instacart as Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the Kroger app, powering fast, accurate, and flexible delivery from nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners nationwide. Together, the companies will also open new opportunities for CPG companies to reach customers with messages and offers through innovative engagement and retail media options.

Introduces agentic shopping experiences to customers across the U.S.

Kroger will be one of the first retailers to offer customers access to Instacart's AI Assistant - Cart Assistant, which it will offer to customers shopping on the Kroger iOS mobile app. Combining Kroger's deep passion for food with Instacart's leading AI technology, Cart Assistant helps customers find meal inspiration, build carts faster with favorite items, and plan meals more easily - all through a personalized, embedded experience.

"Agentic shopping has the potential to change the way American families shop and eat," said Yael Cosset, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Kroger. "Interacting with an AI agent makes shopping and meal planning as simple as a conversation, helping customers build their basket or offering meal suggestions, truly understanding what matters most to them. This is one more way Kroger and Instacart are making grocery shopping easy and fun for families across the country, saving them money and time."

Improves customer experience with increased efficiency that improves order quality 

As Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment provider across all Kroger digital properties, including Kroger.com, Instacart collaborates with Kroger to further elevate the customer digital shopping experience through improved quality and efficiency. Together, the companies are fulfilling more orders from stores – and fulfilling those orders faster and more reliably than ever before. Using AI-centric capabilities, Instacart and Kroger continue to innovate, improving both the experience for the customer and operational efficiency and reliability, in turn driving value back to the customer.

Offers faster delivery to increasingly more customers 

Customers are looking for broader and faster access to the products they love, with solutions that save them time, money and understand what matters most to them. To make mealtime easier and support last-minute shopping needs, Kroger and Instacart are increasing access to Express Delivery on Kroger.com, bringing fresh food, last-minute ingredients, and ready-to-heat meals to more customers in as fast as 30 minutes. Kroger Express Delivery adoption continues to rapidly grow, proving how the relationship delivers convenience and speed while capturing new customer trips.

"For more than a decade, we've helped grocers compete with enterprise-grade technology and fulfillment capabilities built specifically for the grocery industry," said Chris Rogers, CEO of Instacart. "Kroger is one of our most deeply integrated partners, and they've doubled down on Instacart as their primary fulfillment and delivery provider across all Kroger's digital properties, including Kroger.com, because we enable consistent, fast, and high-quality grocery delivery at scale. We couldn't be more excited about the next chapter of our partnership, as Instacart powers the new AI capabilities that will shape the future of how Kroger customers shop. Together, we're making shopping more personalized, intuitive, and efficient for millions of families across the country."

Since 2017, Kroger and Instacart have delivered some of the biggest innovations in grocery, with first-of-its-kind services and launches, from nationwide delivery and Express Delivery to advanced marketing solutions, fuel-points integration across both companies' apps, and AI-powered Caper Carts. The ongoing relationship continues to enhance the customer experience, drive more traffic to Kroger stores, and create new opportunities to reach customers with relevant offers on the products they love.

About Kroger:
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies more than 400,000 associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through an eCommerce shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.

 

 

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

FAQ

What did Kroger and Instacart announce on Nov 4, 2025 (KR)?

They expanded their relationship, reaffirming Instacart as Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the Kroger app.

How many Kroger stores will Instacart fulfill deliveries from after the Nov 4, 2025 deal?

The partnership covers fulfillment from nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners.

Will Kroger offer Instacart's AI Cart Assistant and where will it appear?

Yes; Kroger will offer Instacart's AI Cart Assistant to customers shopping on the Kroger iOS mobile app.

How fast will Kroger Express Delivery be after the expanded Kroger–Instacart relationship?

Express Delivery access is increasing, with availability to deliver fresh food and ready-to-heat meals in as fast as 30 minutes.

Does the deal create new marketing opportunities for CPG brands with Kroger (KR)?

Yes; the companies said the expansion opens new retail media and engagement options for CPG companies to reach customers.

What investor risk is highlighted by the Kroger and Instacart expansion?

The announcement increases Kroger's dependence on a single third-party fulfillment partner, representing concentration risk.