How Davis Food & Drug Drove Double-Digit Sales Growth With Instacart’s Storefront Pro

Meeting Customers Where They Are

Davis Food & Drug, a three-store independent grocery chain in Utah, has long prided itself on seeking out innovations that enhance the customer experience. When the team saw a growing need to serve customers online, Davis became an early adopter in their area and recently transitioned to Instacart Storefront Pro to power its e-commerce operations.

“It’s not our job to tell customers how to shop — it’s our job to be there for them however they want to shop.” — Alex Walker, Director of Operations, Davis Food & Drug

The Challenge: Competing in a Rural Market Against National Chains

Launching e-commerce in rural Utah presented unique challenges. For many customers, grocery shopping is a social activity, resulting in lower online adoption than in urban markets. At the same time, Davis faces competition from larger chains with well-established digital platforms.

As the first independent grocer in their communities to launch e-commerce, The Davis team wanted to continue improving their omnichannel experience to retain loyal customers and attract new ones. To address these challenges, Davis needed a solution that would:

• Deliver a professional, easy-to-use online storefront for both staff and customers

• Support delivery and pickup flexibility without adding labor complexity

• Showcase promotions and savings in a way that increased basket size

• Compete effectively with larger chains while keeping the Davis brand at the center

Storefront Pro: A Simple, Customer-First E-Commerce Platform

The right choice

Davis Food & Drug selected Storefront Pro as the technology behind its e-commerce offering because it offered the best balance of sophistication and simplicity. Unlike other solutions that required significant operational resources, Storefront Pro provided a turnkey platform built for grocery operations of all sizes — intuitive for customers, easy for staff, and flexible enough to scale.

Seamless promotions

With Storefront Pro, Davis powers e-commerce across its three locations, integrating weekly promotions and multi-buy deals through its wholesale partner, Associated Food Stores. Promotions are surfaced clearly online, helping customers save while also driving larger basket sizes.

Flexible operations

Operationally, the platform gives Davis the flexibility to offer both delivery and pickup without overburdening staff. In addition, the Instacart Marketplace brings in new customers — including tourists ordering online — extending the reach of the brand far beyond the physical store footprint.

The Results: Meaningful Growth Across Channels

Since launching with Storefront Pro in July 2025, Davis Food & Drug has continued to see steady and meaningful e-commerce growth across its three stores. In the 12 weeks following their launch, the grocer drove a 24% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. In addition, Davis grew average monthly retail media advertising revenue by 2-3x by upgrading to Storefront Pro and leveraging the built-in monetization of Carrot Ads - proof that a seamless e-commerce experience can drive meaningful results, even in rural markets. 

Even before a major marketing push, Storefront Pro helped Davis strengthen its omnichannel business by making online shopping simple and accessible for customers, while keeping operations efficient for store teams.

Customer Behavior Shifts Toward Delivery and Pickup

After introducing delivery capabilities in addition to pick up, Davis Food & Drug has seen customers embrace new fulfillment options. 

“One of the biggest things we’ve seen is growth in delivery orders. Customers we used to only see in-store are now ordering online.” — Alex Walker, Director of Operations, Davis Food & Drug

The shift in customer behavior tells a compelling story. Around 34% of orders in the 12 weeks after launch were for delivery – 69% of which were incremental to Davis’s existing pick up business. That means that they were able to give their customers more flexibility while capturing new order volume. 

Building Trust and Creating Better Value

For Davis Food & Drug, e-commerce isn’t just about adding a digital channel — it’s about delivering better value to customers. That’s why the team made a strategic choice to maintain price parity (keeping the same prices both in-store and online) across channels and ensure promotions are easy to find and redeem. 

“Storefront Pro allows us to feature promotions in a way that grows basket size and makes savings easy for customers to access.” — Alex Walker, Director of Operations, Davis Food & Drug

Advice to Other Grocers: A No-Brainer for Independents

When asked what he would tell other retailers, Alex Walker’s advice was simple:

“To me, Storefront Pro is a no-brainer. Even if e-commerce is a small percentage of sales in rural areas, it helps us retain customers we might have otherwise lost.” — Alex Walker, Director of Operations, Davis Food & Drug

Conclusion

For a three-store chain competing against national retailers in rural Utah, Instacart Storefront Pro has proven to be a simple, scalable, and reliable e-commerce solution that allows Davis to compete effectively against national retailers while staying true to its local, customer-first roots.

By combining ease of use, promotional integration, and operational flexibility, Storefront Pro has given Davis the tools to meet customers where they are and build for the future.

Disclaimer: These results are based on store-level performance. Past performance is not indicative of future outcomes. Actual results may vary by store, region, and retailer.