Instacart said earlier this month that it will “wind down” its nearly five-year old partnership with Whole Foods. Instacart plans to lay off 243 of its 1,415 Whole Foods personal shoppers. However, the company said it expects to place more than 75% of its affected personal shoppers in similar jobs at other retailers in their area.
Industry experts had anticipated this move ever since Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2017. As of June 2018, all Whole Foods stores in the U.S. were connected to Amazon Prime, and Prime Now delivery is currently available at Whole Foods stores in 63 cities. In addition, Prime Now Pickup is offered at stores in 22 markets.
Despite losing the Whole Foods account, Instacart continues to expand, and currently works with more than 300 retailers. The click-and-collect Instacart Pickup program is expected to rollout soon to nearly 200 grocery stores in 25 metro markets.