Instacart Faces New Threat as DoorDash and Uber Expand Costco Partnership

A rivalry is heating up at Costco, and it has nothing to do with parking spots.

The warehouse chain will roll out nationwide delivery via DoorDash. The two firms had already teamed up in Puerto Rico and a few overseas markets, DoorDash announced on Thursday.

Just a day before, Costco broadened its Uber Eats partnership to cover 47 states, up from the previous 17.

That development spells trouble for Instacart, which has been partnered with Costco since 2017.

DoorDash and Uber Eats began as restaurant‑delivery platforms. Their deeper ties with Costco mark the latest push into groceries — and a possible bite out of Instacart’s market share.

Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, described grocery and other retail sales as “another trillion‑dollar opportunity” during a February earnings call. Meanwhile, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said the expanding roster of grocery partnerships gives the firm an advantage over Amazon, which continues to build its own grocery‑delivery infrastructure.

Amazon is constructing its own warehouse network and deploying its own drivers to bring groceries to shoppers’ doors in as little as half an hour.

DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats, on the other hand, mainly compete by picking orders from the shelves of traditional retailers using their own fleets of gig workers.

Costco adds a distinctive element to the portfolios of these delivery services.

According to Themoneytimes, Costco’s in‑store foot traffic rose 18% over the past seven years, while visits to Walmart and Target remained largely flat.

The chain “ranked among the most‑searched retailers not yet available on DoorDash,” the delivery service noted on Thursday.

Uber President and COO Andrew Macdonald reminisced about Saturday trips to Costco with his dad in a Wednesday post on X, adding, “I’ve already started carrying on the tradition with my own daughters.”

Instacart enjoys an early‑mover advantage. Last year, for instance, it began offering a credit on select orders for Costco executive members — those who pay a higher annual fee and receive extra perks.

“The benefit continues to deepen our relationship with Costco, and also appeals to shoppers seeking added value,” said Instacart CFO Emily Reuter on the company’s August earnings call.

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