Athletes from 47 states and Washington D.C. can now take advantage of same-day delivery from 700+ DICK’S stores.
Whether an athlete needs a replacement air mattress for that end of summer camping trip, new cleats before the Friday night lights turn on, or a must-have pair of kicks for back to school, DICK’S and Instacart will make sure it’s at their door in as fast as an hour.
Athletes from 47 states and Washington D.C. can now take advantage of this same-day delivery from more than 700 DICK’S stores thanks to the recent expansion of DICK’S and Instacart’s partnership. When the national expansion became official in July, it was an immediate success – in just the first two weeks, DICK’S saw an 88 percent increase in sales on Instacart.
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership nationwide, helping customers from across the country access DICK’s Sporting Goods’ incredible selection of products from the store to their door in as fast as an hour,” said Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart. “Whether it be a last-minute need for sports equipment, apparel or beach gear as we wrap up the summer, we’re proud to provide DICK’S Sporting Goods customers access to all the top-quality sporting goods they need, when and where they want them.”
DICK’S and Instacart first teamed up in December 2020 to take on the holiday rush. At the time, delivery services were overwhelmed with the record rush of holiday packages as more people opted to shop for gifts online. They initially launched same-day delivery from more than 150 stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C. Partnering with Instacart meant that DICK’S could mitigate the risk of delivery delays and provide athletes with another convenient way to get their hands on last-minute gifts.
Since the partnership’s launch last year, Scott Casciato, vice president, omni channel fulfillment and athlete service at DICK’S, has used Instacart to place numerous orders from DICK’S to experience the ordering process first-hand and find out just how fast the retailer can get items to athletes. His latest order for a T-shirt was at his door in only 45 minutes.
“I think one benefit of this partnership is learning,” said Casciato. “We wanted to learn about consumer intent behind same-day and the substitution opportunity as we continue to find solutions to reduce the risk of a cancelled item.”
Casciato shared that DICK’S has seen different intent behind athletes who opt to order through Instacart rather than other convenient options the company offers like buy online pick up in store and curbside contactless pickup.
“Items that are doing well on Instacart are smaller items – water bottles, tennis balls, beachballs and game day items,” said Casciato.
Product substitution is another benefit of using Instacart to place an order. If an athlete orders a product in blue but the Instacart shopper finds that it’s out of stock, they will notify the athlete and suggest another option or color. Casciato said the success here has been substantial, and it provides valuable consumer insight.
Casciato shared that DICK’S is seeing high customer satisfaction rates on Instacart, with the delivery rating maintaining an average of 4.82 out of 5. This success has not only helped DICK’S learn more about athletes, but it has also allowed the company to attract new customers via the Instacart platform.
As DICK’S looks toward the future, Casciato said they will continue to experiment with the platform to determine new ways to enhance the omnichannel experience and better serve athletes.