Amazon Stock Gains On New Grocery Move. Instacart Stock Falls.

Amazon (AMZN) will offer delivery of groceries from the Winn-Dixie chain to customers in Florida, the latest expansion of its effort to sell more perishable items. Amazon stock was higher Friday following the news, while shares of Instacart parent Maplebear (CART) fell.

Shoppers in Jacksonville and Orlando can purchase from Winn-Dixie’s selection of grocery items directly on Amazon, with fulfillment by the tech giant.

Delivery will be free for deliveries of $25 or more for both subscribers to Amazon Prime and non-Prime members for a limited time, , as reported late Thursday by Progressive Grocer.

“We’re giving customers in Jacksonville and Orlando more choice and flexibility in how they shop for groceries, all with the convenience of Amazon delivery,” Sophie Turrell, director of U.S. grocery partnerships at Amazon, told Progressive Grocer.

The partnership marks a new twist in Amazon’s attempts to grow its grocery business, Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt wrote to clients early Friday.

“We believe this is the first time in which Amazon has experimented with testing an intermediary grocery offering, which would more directly compete with Instacart,” Devitt wrote.

Amazon Stock: Watching Grocery Push

Grocery is a rare category where Amazon is not the market leader for online sales. Most estimates place Walmart (WMT) ahead of Amazon for online-based grocery sales.

But Amazon has been making a steady push into the category. Amazon said in August that it will offer same-day delivery on perishables, which will reach to 2,300 U.S. markets by the end of the year. The service is free for Prime members on orders that are $25 and above.

Wedbush’s Devitt wrote that the partnership with Winn-Dixie is “an incremental step forward in Amazon’s broader strategy to capture share in the category.”

Devitt added, “Notably, Amazon can meet logistical challenges faced by many grocery retailers, which have typically been addressed by third parties, such as Instacart.”

He rates Amazon stock as outperform, or buy.

Devitt downgraded Instacart to an underperform last month, after Amazon announced it would deliver perishables directly to customers in most U.S. markets.

Amazon Stock Gains, Instacart Falls

In recent trades on the stock market today, Amazon stock is ahead by a fraction at 233.10. Amazon stock is ahead 6% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500.

Shares broke out early last week beyond a flat-base buy point of 236.53 before falling below that level, according to IBD MarketSurge.

Meanwhile, Instacart stock was down 3% at 43.97 in recent action. Shares of the grocery delivery company gained following its Q2 report in early August. But Amazon’s moves in the sector have weighed on shares since then. Instacart stock is ahead 4% overall this year but down 10% since the end of July.

Walmart stock, meanwhile, was down 1% at 102.43 in recent trades.

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