After Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced a major expansion of its same-day delivery service for perishable products to over 2,300 cities and towns across the United States, Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) shares dropped 7%.
The e-commerce behemoth announced plans to keep growing the service in 2026, putting further pressure on specialized grocery delivery services like Instacart. According to Amazon’s statement, sales of perishable goods have increased thirtyfold since January, with fresh groceries currently accounting for nine out of the top ten items bought via its Same-Day Delivery service.
Using its Prime membership program, Amazon’s extended grocery delivery network offers free Same-Day Delivery on purchases over $25 in the majority of locations. Regardless of purchase size, non-Prime users can use the service for $12.99.
Since August, the firm has added thousands of goods from Whole Foods Market to its perishable inventory that is available for Same-Day Delivery, increasing it by more than 30%. Customers who add fresh food to their Same-Day Delivery orders purchase about twice as frequently as those who don’t, according to Amazon.
According to Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, “the selection, pricing, and convenience of Same-Day Delivery from Amazon makes grocery shopping that much easier for families across the country.”
As the digital giant continues to use its enormous logistical network and customer base to gain market share in the cutthroat food delivery industry, Amazon’s expanding presence in the grocery delivery field poses a direct threat to Instacart’s business model.
