Dive Brief:
- Fulfillment and delivery company Point Pickup Technologies announced on Thursday that it has acquired white-label grocery e-commerce firm GrocerKey.
- Point Pickup can now offer an end-to-end solution for its expanding bench of retailer clients, according to an emailed press release.
- The acquisition also allows for more customization of retailers’ e-commerce offerings and provides more data insights, according to the announcement. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
Dive Insight:
GrocerKey is the latest addition to a string of grocery e-commerce acquisitions this year aimed at broadening the range of online services that technology companies offer.
The deal links a last-mile delivery company with an e-commerce platform, bringing two key pieces of online grocery service under one corporate umbrella. According to Thursday's announcement, Point Pickup's acquisition creates the "first end-to-end, own-branded last-mile fulfillment and delivery service."
Founded in 2014 by Jeremy Neren and Daniel Glucksman, GrocerKey has positioned itself as an alternative to Instacart. The e-commerce firm, which works with Kowalski’s Markets and Fareway, among others, has positioned itself as a solution for independent and regional grocers, offering a customer-facing digital platform and fulfillment technology.
In May, GrocerKey launched a flexible e-grocery platform, called GK Open, that offers more customization tools for retailers. Last spring, the company partnered with SPINS, a data analytics and technology provider, to drive loyalty and conversion for grocers.
The acquisition by Point Pickup will further propel GrocerKey's efforts to differentiate itself from other white-label e-commerce providers, Neren, GrocerKey's CEO, said in a statement.
“Being able to provide brands with complete control over their eCommerce services from point of sale to customers’ homes is a game-changer,” he said about the acquisition in the announcement.
Point Pickup, whose clients include Walmart and Kroger, operates a technology platform along with a network of flex workers. The fulfillment and delivery company says it’s the only platform with pre-scheduled shopping and delivery with repeat drivers that can also handle on-demand requests. Originally focused on grocery, Point Pickup expanded into the delivery of general merchandise, pharmacy and oversized items.
The deal marks the latest acquisition of a grocery e-commerce provider as companies expand their services and take aim e-commerce leader Instacart. In June, food distributor Dot Foods bought ShopHero, and at the start of the year, technology company NCR bought Freshop.
Even though pickup and delivery sales have leveled off over the summer, the services are seeing sales levels that are 4.5 times greater than roughly two years ago, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. Online grocery is expected to reach $250 billion by 2025, according to predictions from Mercatus and research firm Incisiv last fall.
