Kroger and Instacart expand relationship to include Express Delivery boost and agentic shopping

The Kroger Co. and Instacart have announced an expanded relationship involving increased access to Express Delivery and new, agentic shopping experiences.

The tie up reaffirms Instacart as Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the retailer’s app, powering delivery from nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners in the US. The pair will also open new opportunities for CPG companies to reach customers with messages and offers through engagement and retail media options.

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. This helps customers find meal inspiration, build carts faster with favourite items, and plan meals more easily.

"Agentic shopping has the potential to change the way American families shop and eat," says Yael Cosset, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at 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."

"For more than a decade, we've helped grocers compete with enterprise grade technology and fulfillment capabilities built specifically for the grocery industry," says Chris Rogers, CEO at 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 personalised, intuitive, and efficient for millions of families across the country."

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH proudly presents the first edition of its AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.

This is now open for entries. Deadline for submissions is Friday, 5th December. It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Check out categories and entry forms here.

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.