TORONTO — Mercatus is now offering the Instacart Connect integration to its retail clients, which enables Mercatus-powered grocery retailers to use the Instacart fulfillment infrastructure to pick, pack and deliver orders, without giving up control over the customer relationship.  

With the new tool, consumers can go directly to their preferred grocer’s eCommerce site to place their orders, instead of going through the Instacart marketplace for their delivery service. Behind the scenes, the order is placed and then routed from the retailer-owned site to Instacart, which dispatches an Instacart shopper to pick, pack and handoff (or deliver) the order to the customer.  

“We know that building digital connections that result in a more-lasting customer loyalty is vital to ensuring grocers have a healthier, more valuable eCommerce proposition,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and chief executive officer of 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.” 

With the option to use Instacart Connect to build up their fulfillment program while directing shoppers to their own site powered by Mercatus, retailers are better positioned to develop meaningful connections that are more than simply a functional or transactional relationship. For resource-strapped grocers, the integration with Instacart enables them to meet surging demand at peak times without heavy investment in onboarding and expanding their existing in-store team. 

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