Petsense, the pet supply business owned by Tractor Supply Co., has selected Instacart as its exclusive partner for same-day delivery, according to an Aug. 25 press release.
The service is already available and allows customers to receive Petsense orders in as little as one hour, with no markups, according to the companies. Petsense operates more than 130 stores nationwide.
The partnership expands an existing relationship between Tractor Supply and Instacart. In July, Tractor Supply announced that same-day delivery through Instacart would be offered from more than 2,400 of its stores.
Retailers expand rapid delivery networks
Retailers have increasingly turned to delivery platforms like Instacart and DoorDash to give customers faster same-day fulfillment.
Last year, Ulta teamed with Instacart to offer same-day delivery from more than 1,400 stores. More recently, Gap, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble and Carter’s have partnered with DoorDash to enable customers to place orders and receive products in a shorter timeframe.
Tractor Supply is building out its own last-mile delivery capabilities and teaming up with third-party partners to execute a more expansive delivery strategy.
The company has been developing an initiative to do more last-mile deliveries in-house, but will still use third-party delivery providers for some orders.
“Final mile continues to be one of our most compelling growth opportunities with customer adoption continuing to be better than we expect and economics improving as we scale the business,” President and CEO Hal Lawton said on the company’s Q2 earnings call in July.
As of April, Tractor Supply was seeking to add 176 new hub locations. These facilities are intended to bring drivers and inventory from various locations to support deliveries to customers in the surrounding areas.
Tractor Supply plans to expand its last-mile delivery business to reduce its cost per delivery. The retailer will still partner with delivery providers for small and medium-sized items, but will use its own delivery network for larger and bulkier products.
