Instacart cites Walmart, Amazon in $17 billion DoorDash merger

By James Calloway

Instacart’s proposed $17 billion merger with DoorDash is not expected to close before late 2027, at the earliest, according to Ryan Hamburger, Instacart’s chief commercial officer.

Instacart is building support for the transaction. The company presents the combination as a way to give conventional grocers more scale against mounting pressure from Walmart and Amazon. Hamburger said their grocery investments in recent years have reshaped the industry.

Why does Instacart need DoorDash?

“The competition is intensifying in grocery, and it’s not intensifying because of marketplaces like Instacart or DoorDash. It’s intensifying because of the investments that Amazon and Walmart have been making in the space,” Hamburger said.

His comparison puts marketplace competition on one side and Walmart and Amazon’s grocery investments on the other. Hamburger cited data showing that grocers losing foot traffic to e-commerce services often cede those customers to Amazon or Walmart. Those customers do not necessarily move to Instacart or DoorDash, he said.

“If we are not able to combine forces, we’ll still do what we’re doing,” Hamburger said. “We will still be a solid business. But those two giants are just going to continue to chip away at grocers across the U.S., and it’s actually going to reduce competition further.”

Instacart has concluded that it needs the scale it would gain through the merger. Hamburger said the combination could help traditional grocers remain viable as Walmart and Amazon seek more grocery market share.

Which retailers support the deal?

Multiple retailers that partner with Instacart have declared support for the transaction, according to Hamburger. Named supporters include Minnesota-based supermarket chain Coborn’s and The Save Mart Companies.

The Save Mart Companies runs stores in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Coborn’s said the potential partnership could bring grocers more resources and capabilities.

“We’re encouraged by what Instacart’s potential partnership with DoorDash could mean for grocers like us, with more resources and capabilities to help us grow and serve our communities,” Josh Wing, vice president of IT at Coborn’s, said in a statement provided by Instacart.

What changes while regulators review the deal?

Instacart intends to advance its enterprise and marketplace businesses while it awaits regulatory approval. Hamburger said the merger cannot close before late 2027 at the earliest.

“The major e-commerce giants that are out there [are] innovating every day,” he said. “They are doing new things each and every day to attract customers into their four walls and to attract customers to their e-commerce properties. And so we have to be on the leading edge of innovation between now and deal close.”

Hamburger said Instacart must maintain an innovation lead through the review period. He described enterprise and marketplace improvements as work that can continue before the merger closes.

For Instacart and its retailer partners, the test is whether the combined platform can deliver scale and innovation during a regulatory review that could extend into late 2027.