Dick's introduced the service at 150 stores in nine states and the District of Columbia and may expand it to additional markets.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (No. 43 in the 2020 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000) last week launched on-demand delivery via Instacart at more than 150 of its stores.

Dick’s introduced the service Friday at stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C. Consumers can use the service to order sporting and athletic equipment, outdoor recreation gear and apparel, footwear and accessories.

Dicks’s selected the initial markets for the service by first looking at areas where Instacart was popular with consumers, a Dick’s spokeswoman says. The retailer then looked for Dick’s stores that could quickly incorporate same-day delivery.

“Over time, we intend to expand the locations that can be served by Instacart,” she says, without providing details.

advertisement

Instacart delivery adds to Dick’s other same-day services, including free, one-hour curbside pickup and  buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS). Dick’s deal with Instacart is its first with an outside same-day delivery service.

“We did our due diligence and looked at several players in this category and believe that Instacart’s experience and capabilities best align to the needs and desires of our customers,” the spokeswoman says.

To begin shopping with Instacart, Dick’s customers in participating states can visit  www.instacart.com/dicks-sporting-goods or download the Instacart app on a mobile device. Customers can schedule delivery for a designated timeframe, or can select on-demand delivery to get products in as little as an hour.

Same-day delivery could bolster Dick’s store sales, which drive the retailer’s growth. In a Nov. 24 conference, Dick’s soon-to-be-former CEO Ed Stack said stores drove 90% of total Q3 sales growth, including sales made at registers, picked up curbside and delivered to homes via Dick’s ship from store service. On Feb. 1, Lauren Hobart, the retailer’s current president, will succeed Stack as CEO.

advertisement

Dick’s is one of several retail chains turning to on-demand platforms to help fulfill online orders.

A recent example is Best Buy Co Inc. (No. 10). In November, the electronics retailer said shoppers across the U.S. could place orders at Instacart.com/Best-Buy or in the Instacart app for hundreds of products. Instacart will fulfill orders from local Best Buy stores and deliver within a designated window that day. Best Buy joined the likes of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (No. 30), Walmart Inc. (No. 3), Tractor Supply Co. (No. 440) and other retailers that are using on-demand platforms to fulfill online orders.

Instacart fees start at $3.99 for same-day orders over $35. Prices vary for one-hour express deliveries and orders under $35. Additional fees vary by market. The delivery company also has a membership program called Instacart Express that offers reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on orders over $35.

As of Oct. 31, 2020, Dick’s operated 732 Dick’s Sporting Goods locations. In addition to its full-line sporting goods stores, Dick’s owns 129 Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream Specialty stores. Dick’s also owns gamechanger, a youth-sports mobile app for scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping.

advertisement

Instacart says it works with more than 500 retailers to deliver from nearly 40,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in all 50 U.S. states and Canada. Instacart is available to 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households with delivery and pickup services, Instacart says.

Favorite