MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The NACS Leadership Forum began its second day with a robust discussion of the on-demand economy. In the session, “How Technology Is Forcing Change: What the On-Demand Economy Means for Convenience,” Vishwa Chandra, vice president of retail accounts at Instacart, spoke to attendees about the instant grocery delivery company and its contribution to the on-demand economy. “I want to share with you who we are, how we think about delivery, and how we think about the relationship with our grocery and retail partners,” he said.

Instacart believes that in this day and age, brick and mortar retailers should offer a differentiated ecommerce experience. Chandra shared: “The grocery industry, for a long time, thought they were immune to this trend and felt protected. They ignored the signs and now they have to play catch up.” That’s where Instacart steps in.

The company’s job is to enable their retail partners (from big to small, including Whole Foods and many independent retailers) to deliver their grocery products to consumers, all within an hour.

Currently in 18 cities, Instacart is growing by double digits month over month. Early on, the company realized how retailers operate can vary by market, so was strategic about what cities they started in and looked for a mix of geographies and demographics. “It’s not a one size fits all strategy,” Chandra stated. Interestingly, he shared that the company has learned more about their business from partnering with retailers in Indianapolis than it has from its operations in San Francisco.

The one-hour delivery model (and $5.99 delivery fee) saves consumers time and provides convenience, but more importantly, also offers quality and choice—important distinctions, Chandra said. By focusing on a digitally enabled customer shopping experience with those qualities, “we can customize an experience to meet specific customer needs.”

Instacart staff is key to ensuring quality. “It’s very hard to get a customer in, but it’s incredibly easy to lose them,” Chandra stated. The company understands this so spends a lot of time training employees on how to pack grocery bags. “It’s the one experience (a customer unpacking bags) that could make or break a relationship.”

For talent management, Instacart has a regional infrastructure similar to convenience retailers (regional managers, store managers and so on) to ensure consistency and quality. “We track everything—star ratings, comments on social media—and actively manage and coach staff along the way,” Chandra said. Staff are embedded in the grocery store (and employed by Instacart) so the added staff is not a financial burden on retailers.

For out of stocks, Instacart provides alternative recommendations based on price, a specific category and/or particular qualities (organic, for example). If a similar replacement cannot be found, an Instacart employee texts the customer to ask for approval for the swap.

Instacart also integrates with a retailer’s existing loyalty program. Customers can enter their loyalty card number, and Instacart can offer differentiated pricing and specific targeting based on what the retailer wants. The company does sell age-restricted products but alcohol is not sold in all markets. “It’s one of the toughest things we do,” Chandra stated, “Laws change county by county and state by state.”

Anthony Shop, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Social Driver, joined Chandra onstage for Q&A. During the engaging session, Shop noted Instacart’s unique combination of of people and systems. Chandra agreed but also admitted, “We’re at 2% of where we think we can be, and that means there’s still 98% left to do.”

The NACS Leadership Forum is a two-and-a-half day, invitation-only, world-class event that brings together retailers and suppliers to provide thought leadership as well as strengthen and build new business relationships.

This morning, on the last day of the Leadership Forum, Lisa Dell’ Alba, president and CEO of Square One Markets of Pennsylvania, moderates a session—Strategy Lessons from the Roadside—with Dr. Mike Mazzeo, associate professor of strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Photos from the NACS Leadership Forum can be viewed on the NACS Facebook page.