Dive Brief:
- Party City is integrating its more than 700 locations into Instacart’s same-day delivery network, the party retailer announced Monday.
- Using the Instacart app, shoppers can buy decorations, party favors, costumes and other festive items and have them delivered as fast as one hour.
- “Same-day delivery means the platform’s users can get what they need without missing a beat of the celebration, for everything from last-minute Halloween party decorations to extra balloons for their child’s birthday,” Shannon Symalla, chief marketing officer at Party City, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Besides offering a same-day delivery option via Instacart, Party City has been cutting prices to entice shoppers ahead of the holidays. In September, the retailer said it marked down more than 2,000 items by an average of 20%. Among the discounted items are tableware, children’s birthday supplies, balloons and candy. The company also said it planned to reduce its prices on an additional 500 products on the cusp of “the busiest party hosting time of the year.”
Long before the holiday season, Party City began reshaping its stores to better showcase its offerings. In March, the company unveiled a new store format and said it would accelerate remodels based on a successful pilot program. The format allows the company to test new product assortments including party favors, trending toys and balloons.
Party City’s Instacart partnership comes about a year after its parent company, Party City Holdco, exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company restructured its debt, shedding almost $1 billion of its debt obligations. The retailer also negotiated store lease terms and closed underperforming locations.
Meanwhile, Instacart’s partnerships have grown to include more than 1,500 retailers. Kohl’s, for example, joined Instacart’s same-day delivery network in May, allowing shoppers to order skin care, beauty, pet supplies and accessories for delivery from its 1,172 stores.
Instacart’s partnership with Party City expands the platform’s selection of offerings and creates “a true one-stop shop where customers can now get everything they need for the perfect party through Instacart," Blake Wallace, senior director of retail partnerships at Instacart, said in a statement.
