Home Depot Expands Nationwide Same-Day Delivery with Instacart

Place your order today to lock in same-day delivery nationwide, with flexible next-day options where available. This rollout is powered by Instacart, speeding up dispatch on hundreds of Home Depot items – from tools to paint – so you're ready for your next project.

number of participating stores now exceeds 2,000, reaching all 50 states and key metro areas. The model relies on Instacart shoppers who pick items from store shelves and deliver them within hours, while Home Depot maintains full inventory visibility in the app and on shelves. This setup enables customers to track progress and adjust their basket in real time.

Retailers across the industry are watching this move closely, as it signals a changing shift towards integrated fulfilment that blends online shopping with in-store availability. Increasingly, customers expect one-click convenience for a complete project– including bulk purchases and specialty items – without juggling multiple retailers. That's the path many retailers use to stay competitive.

Demand data shows a steady rise in orders that combine home improvement goods with fast delivery. Depending on market size and inventory, Home Depot can offer same-day windows from morning through evening, and they are optimising routes to minimise travel time. This reduces the number of trips customers must make and helps stores fulfil more orders in a single day.

For teams planning their own delivery experiments, start with a controlled pilot in a handful of markets, then scale to the main retailers you serve. The project should focus on 3–5 high-demand categories: power tools, batteries, paint, and storage solutions – areas that drive the number of complete orders. A Wriggle Project briefing notes that the alignment between store operations and Instacart’s platform matters just as much as the initial rollout. You’re going to see faster delivery, higher order value, and a clearer path to expand the service beyond core markets, giving your business a competitive edge.

Implementation Focus: 70-City Reach, Competitive Edge and Customer Value

Opt for a 70-city rollout with 60- to 90-minute delivery windows for most orders in core markets to lock in speed and reliability.

Tie-ups with retailers and merchants form the backbone of the distribution network. Within each market, a lean hub-and-spoke model completes coverage whilst moving thousands of pounds of goods efficiently.

Weather disruptions won’t derail service. Weather-resilient routing and proactive ETA updates keep customers satisfied when conditions shift, delivering within the promised window. This will make the experience seamless.

Competitive edge rests on consolidating to a smaller number of high-capacity partners rather than dozens of smaller ones. They can control costs, optimise routes, and offer a consistent offering across geographies, fulfilling orders with higher accuracy.

Announced today, the plan aims to reach full coverage within 12 months. Senior leaders, including menear, described a tie-up with walmarts and other retailers to accelerate distribution through a true partnership. This could redefine the part of the image of fast, reliable service. It also emphasises merchants and the offering to shoppers who expect complete, seamless delivery within tight timeframes.

Competitive Edge: Instacart Integration to Accelerate Availability and Selection

Implement real-time inventory synchronisation between Home Depot stores and Instacart to speed up availability and broaden selection in 25 markets. When stock changes, the data pushes to Instacart within minutes, enabling customers to place orders for goods that are in stock locally, while merchants including smaller suppliers gain exposure. This seamless flow helps senior leadership plan distribution more precisely. The initial rollout targets a number of SKUs–about 60,000 across 25 markets–with the option to scale to 120,000 SKUs over 12 months and to expand distribution to additional geographies.

Key actions include standardising data, mapping SKUs, and creating a unified view of availability across the retailer and Instacart network. Partnering with Instacart enables a two-delivery option: store pickup and Instacart delivery, providing flexibility for customers and opportunities for merchants including smaller suppliers. Learned from years of retail operations, this approach reduces backorders and lifts order value; the number of visible SKUs, fill rate, and hour-level delivery precision become clear success metrics. Whether a product is in stock or backordered, real-time signals keep them informed and allow merchants to care for stock quality and promotions. This effort strengthens market reach for the retailer while delivering goods to customers with greater convenience.

Big Bulky Solution: Handling Large Items Without Compromising Delivery Speed

Begin with an express bulk channel that uses two-person crews and dedicated staging to keep speed high for large items. This setup protects service quality, supports our business goals, and maintains fast delivery for heavy products including appliances, furniture, and outdoor gear.

• Network and depots – Build a network of smaller depots positioned within 20–25 miles of high-demand areas to shorten last-mile routes. Each depot stocks a rotating selection of bulky products and supports tail lift pickups, ensuring items can be moved without slowing other orders. This approach reduces travel distance, improves on-time delivery, and keeps most bulky orders within a four-hour window. Logos on doors and lorries reinforce brand trust during express delivery, helping customers recognise the service as part of the Home Depot experience.

• Fulfilment and order flow – Tag every bulky order with a dedicated workflow, including product dimensions, weight in pounds, required handling, and preferred delivery window. Surface eligible items in weeks’ demand forecasts to optimise the number of bulky items per route. Depending on the day, weed out those orders that can be grouped into a single stop to maximise efficiency. We've learned that consolidating bulky items with smaller orders boosts throughput and reduces the number of trips, even when the total order count is limited.

• Physical handling and safety - Assign a two-person team for items over 75 pounds and provide lift-assistance tools for weights over 125 pounds. Use clear instructions on stacking, palletisation, and safe unloading to prevent damage to products and property. Keep a simple checklist to verify dimensions, weight, and safe handling before the item ever leaves the depot.

• Customer experience and communication – Offer a transparent, fast-responding option with a 2–4 hour delivery window for bulky items. Provide live ETA updates in the app and a simple on-call handoff if the customer needs help with placement or assembly. If a delivery requires a third party, you're informed in advance so the customer can prepare a suitable access point and ensure a smooth handoff.

• Measurement and iteration – Track the number of bulky orders fulfilled, on-time rate, and average pounds per delivery. Monitor demand spikes and adjust depot staffing accordingly, prioritising the most-popular items to keep them delivered fast. Set targets: most bulky deliveries should meet the four-hour promise; limited exceptions fall under a predefined escalation path to preserve customer trust. Use these insights to refine logos, packaging, and routing for continual improvement.

Flexibility and Convenience: Coverage in 35 Major Cities with Broad Window Options

Choose the coverage that spans 35 major cities for fast, reliable delivery with broad window options. That Craig said the expansion is designed to keep sales growing and to simplify fulfilment across physical stores. that process adds next-day and fast options, including lockers for secure pickup and a shop feel within the physical locations. navigate the model by keeping постачання moving and choosing from expanding offerings. We've built features that let you pick a delivery window and decide whether to pick up in store, or have items delivered. Those options підтримка 35 major cities і допомогти business partners extend reach in smaller markets. The project emphasises fulfilment and flexible scheduling, including next-day and fast options across the network. If you're planning a project rollout, you're able to sync lockers, physical shops, and digital channels to drive sales. With the ongoing expansion, stores can keep costs down whilst offering reliable service, and the team can navigate changing demand.

How the Service Works: From Placing an Order to Final-Mile Handoff

Choose Express delivery through the retailer's app to get supplies quickly, and follow these steps to see the service through to the final mile handoff.

Place your order by shopping the catalogue, selecting items and picking a delivery option that fits your schedule. Doing so makes the process smoother, and you can shop products and supplies across Home Depot’s selection, then choose a window that works when you’re home or at the office.

Behind the scenes, the retailer connects with distribution networks and depots to pull items. The tie-up with Instacart turns store shelves and depots into fulfillment nodes; the technology stack tracks items through picking, packing, and tagging, so status updates flow through the interconnected platform. Logos and partner badges appear on the order page to show the partnership and services you can rely on. That's why retailers pursue a robust tie-up with logistics partners to keep shelves stocked and orders moving.

During fulfilment, staff or automated systems locate the chosen items within the shop and at depots, pack them securely, and hand them off to the delivery partner. The process supports options for delivery speed and drop-off preferences; you can specify doorstep delivery or kerbside pickup where available.

The final-mile handoff occurs when the courier arrives within the paid window and delivers the products to you. You’ll see real-time tracking and receive updates in the app – the service uses technology to confirm items and capture proof of delivery; if you’re not home, you can reschedule or authorise a safe drop within the allowed policy. We've learned that real-time updates reduce questions during delivery.

What you need to know: the distribution network is interconnected across stores, depots and distribution centres; the retailer partners with Instacart to provide these services nationwide. When you want fast delivery, you can choose amongst several options; this partnership is designed to help shoppers get supplies or products quickly, with the retailer’s footprint and the distribution network behind the service.

Elevating Customer Experience: Real-Time Tracking, Updates, and Reliability

Implement real-time tracking across the order flow and give customers updates when events occur, so they can visit the order page to see progress in real time.

• Provide minute-by-minute ETA and status for each order, including pickup, in-transit, and final delivery to the customer's door.
• Push proactive updates via app, SMS and email, including changes in hour windows or delays caused by traffic or weather.
• Show a live location map and route data to navigate them through the delivery process with clarity and confidence.
• Offer a single, consistent order view across devices so senior users and customers on smaller screens can easily read status and updates.
• Support physical collection at centres or stores with clear collection instructions and defined hour windows, ensuring a seamless option alongside home delivery.
• Label goods and products with order IDs and barcodes so staff can verify purchases quickly at handoff points.

In a pilot project announced for limited markets, the programme integrates with partners like Instacart to provide seamless fulfilment of goods, including groceries and home improvement products. This first phase helps them stay informed about each step of the order and reduces uncertainty during peak demand.

To maintain reliability, we’ve built multi-source data feeds from shops, centres, and carrier networks, providing redundancy if a link stalls. When data quality dips, we provide approximate but accurate follow-up ETAs so customers aren’t left waiting in the dark. This approach lowers demand on support channels and keeps purchases moving smoothly through the fulfilment process.

They've also designed alerts for when a delivery is delayed or rerouted, giving customers immediate, actionable options – visit a pickup centre, switch to home delivery, or adjust a delivery window. We've found that proactive, clear communication builds trust and reduces missed deliveries, especially in high-volume hours and during seasonal spikes in the market.