Academy Sports and Outdoors has partnered with Instacart to enhance its delivery services, adding same-day options across various product categories including camping and team sports. This expansion comes as the retailer integrates its over 300 stores in 21 states into Instacart’s delivery system, offering customers the ability to receive products within an hour at in-store prices, according to Instacart’s announcement on Monday.
Expansion into Same-Day Delivery
This collaboration with Instacart complements Academy’s existing partnership with Uber Eats, which began in June, for same-day delivery services. The Uber Eats partnership focuses on serving customers in the South, Midwest, and Southeast of the U.S., allowing them to order on-demand through the app.
Chad Fox, Academy’s chief customer officer, highlighted the company’s goal of providing flexible purchasing options. “Our partnership with Instacart offers another convenient way to shop Academy’s broad assortment at the same great prices customers find in our stores,” he stated.
Growing Presence in Retail and Delivery
Concurrent with its online expansion, Academy is pursuing an ambitious brick-and-mortar growth plan. CEO Steve Lawrence indicated in an April call with analysts that the company intends to launch 125 new stores in the next five years, with most in established markets and 20% in new territories.
Instacart’s decision to maintain consistent pricing for Academy’s products aligns with its recent suspension of a price testing program that allowed variable pricing between online and in-store purchases. This change was introduced following scrutiny from investigations by Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative.
Beyond grocery retail, Instacart is expanding its partnerships. Recently, Tractor Supply partnered with Instacart to deliver products from over 2,400 stores in an hour, reinforcing Instacart’s move to diversify its delivery services beyond traditional grocery items.
Academy’s strategic growth is bolstered by a Q1 report showing a 6.7% increase in net sales, totalling $1.4 billion, and a 2.9% rise in comparable sales compared to the previous year. The financial report also disclosed a 14.3% surge in net income, reaching $52.7 million.
Reporting based on coverage first published by retaildive.com.