Inside Shipt’s Evolution from Delivering Groceries to Delivering Everything

Within minutes of jumping on the phone with Rina Hurst, chief business strategy officer at Shipt, I was reminded of an inescapable pandemic truth: Like other same-day delivery services, Shipt had a much better 2020 than I did.

• Shipt’s “shoppers,” gig workers who fulfill its members’ orders from stores, increased to 200,000 from 100,000 during the early stages of the pandemic. With holiday hiring, its workforce swelled to 350,000.
• Shipt’s app was downloaded 2.4 million times in 2020, Apptopia shared with Retail Brew. Over the year, it peaked at 424,000 daily active users.

What changed? Hurst sums up delivery’s quarantine transformation as one from “luxury to convenience to a must-have.” That made retailers who’d held out on same-day fulfillment options—aka anyone that isn’t a grocer—eager to catch up.

Step by doorstep

Shipt entered 2021 with around 120 retail partners, Hurst told me. They range from pet care (Petco) to housewares (Bed Bath & Beyond) to holiday gifts (Build-A-Bear)—a substantial shift from refrigerator lists.

Their needs aren’t much different. Giving non-grocery retailers the best delivery experience means...

• Hiring smart. Hurst said Shipt trains its shoppers like they’re brand ambassadors—communicating with customers and making personalized suggestions.
• Following through. Shipt's partner success team is responsible for keeping onboarded retailers...on board. Example? When Bed Bath & Beyond joined the roster, both orgs invested in a week of free delivery for customers.

Some non-grocery partnerships have a seasonal tilt. Build-A-Bear joined Shipt with days left in Q4, just in time for a last-minute holiday surge. As the candy aisle at CVS reminds us, Valentine’s Day is around retailers’ corner—another time the plush delivery biz could pick up.

Long-term...“There’s lasting power in replenishable businesses that is going to look a little bit different than those that are more discretionary,” Hurst said of Shipt’s category mix.

But more non-grocery partnerships will come to a phone near you later this year. “We are actively speaking to what I would call the ‘last frontier,’ where we might not have a presence today,” Hurst said.

Zoom out: The competition's heating up to enable same-day delivery for any and all retail categories. By clients alone, Instacart leads the pack with 500+ retail partners.