Dive Brief:
- Instacart announced Tuesday that it is acquiring retail tech platform Instaleap for an undisclosed amount.
- The deal will give Instacart a grocery-specific fulfillment solutions services platform, the announcement noted. It will also expand access to established retailer relationships outside of the United States, including with major grocers such as Cencosud in Latin America and Continente in Portugal.
- Instacart said the acquisition is part of its efforts to advance its presence internationally.
Dive Insight:
The purchase of Instaleap comes at a time when Instacart says it is seeing demand outside the U.S. for its enterprise offerings, which include its e-commerce, in-store, advertising and data technologies.
“We’ve already seen growing global demand for our online and in-store technologies,
including Storefront Pro and Caper Carts, with early traction in Europe and Australia,” Instacart Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Hamburger said in a statement. “With the addition of Instaleap’s technology, international expertise, and deep retail relationships, we can accelerate our international expansion and better serve retailers and consumers around the world.”
Instaleap has partnerships with nearly 100 grocery retailers outside North America, including ones in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Instaleap has powered more than 100 million transactions and operates in nearly 30 countries, providing Instacart with local market expertise.
Instaleap’s technology has features such as marketplace integrations and order aggregation that Instacart says address the core needs of international retailers and complement its broader enterprise offerings. Instacart noted that international retailers who work with Instaleap may want to use Instacart’s e-commerce, smart cart and catering solutions.
Instacart said it will initially operate Instaleap as a wholly-owned subsidiary to ensure continuity for Instaleap retailers.
Instacart made its first major push outside North America a few years ago, testing smart carts with Aldi South Group in Austria in 2024 and deploying its smart carts at a Coles Supermarkets store in Australia early last year.
In a February 12 shareholder letter, Instacart noted that it has grown its international presence by rolling out its “proven products” — e-commerce, smart carts and catering platform — to existing retail partners. The company highlighted the expanded tie-up with Costco in France and Spain it announced at the start of this year, which marked its first Storefront Pro deployments outside North America.
