Dive Brief:

• Staples on Friday announced it's formed a partnership with Instacart to offer same-day delivery at more than 1,000 U.S. locations. 

• Customers can buy Staples items from their nearest location through the Instacart app or site. Instacart shoppers will procure their items and schedule their desired delivery time up to two weeks in advance, according to the company announcement. 

• Staples customers can also enter their Staples Rewards number when shopping to add their purchases toward their loyalty incentives, per the company statement.

Dive Insight:

In early February, Staples introduced Staples Connect, a store concept featuring coworking, podcasting and community event spaces for professionals, teachers and students. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Like other retailers, Staples has had to pivot to serve customers safely as the threat of the coronavirus looms and states allow businesses to carefully serve customers. 

"As small businesses prepare to reopen, and communities plan for the upcoming school year, we're thrilled to partner with Instacart to enable a new same-day delivery option that is serviced by local community shoppers through their local Staples Store," Mike Motz, Staples U.S. Retail CEO, said in a statement. 

Staples is part of a growing list of retailers that have partnered with Instacart recently. Costco and Rite Aid have enlisted the delivery platform to transport items like prescriptions, groceries and healthcare items. The office supply retailer seeks to serve customers in need of work or school supplies, cleaning items and PPE for themselves or their families as they comply with shelter in place orders.

"With home now serving as both a workplace and school for so many families across America, we're proud to work with Staples to make it easier to adapt to this new normal and bring Staples' wide variety of office supplies directly from the local store to the customer's door," Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart, said in a statement.

During the pandemic, Instacart has had quite a bit of activity surrounding its operations. As Instacart's demand rose, the company has had to address a workers' strike. But as of mid-May, the company stabilized its delivery times and introduced safety features for workers later in the month.

Last week, Instacart announced it raised $225 million in funding, which will go toward adding new services and features, supporting its shoppers and improving the platform's technical infrastructure. The new funding raises the company's total valuation to $13.7 billion.