> If there is as much money to be made as Instacart's valuation implies, then it's just a matter of time until the big chains, at least, start offering their own online shopping.
That depends on what grocery stores are good at. It seems to me that grocery stores are the ones with the outdated model. Why would we expect people who make many multiples of the wage paid to a shopper to enjoy wandering through a warehouse putting goods into a cart?
High end chains offer samples of gourmet food, pleasant music, oyster bars, etc., but ultimately when I'm there I'm sacrificing a LOT of time simply for the pleasure of shopping manually.
Instacart has created an extremely polished, highly usable shopping experience. When I order I don't really care where the items come from (I have no loyalty to the local grocer). I typically shop at Whole Foods because it carries many high-end items, but why should my grocer have to buy prime retail space just to put a bunch of short-shelf-life items on display in a beautiful shopping environment hoping that I'm happy to pay a 20% markup over a Safeway or other competitor?
Instacart is the best solution to the problem of "how do I keep my fridge and pantry stocked with the items I want with minimal cost and effort" problem.
Think about if we had to browse through cartons of mail in a local postal service warehouse just to collect our mail. Delivery makes perfect sense for things that we need on a routine basis.
> but tge same "shoping" experience has worked for many, many years.
This is almost an absurd luddite-ism and I won't even respond :)
That depends on what grocery stores are good at. It seems to me that grocery stores are the ones with the outdated model. Why would we expect people who make many multiples of the wage paid to a shopper to enjoy wandering through a warehouse putting goods into a cart?
High end chains offer samples of gourmet food, pleasant music, oyster bars, etc., but ultimately when I'm there I'm sacrificing a LOT of time simply for the pleasure of shopping manually.
Instacart has created an extremely polished, highly usable shopping experience. When I order I don't really care where the items come from (I have no loyalty to the local grocer). I typically shop at Whole Foods because it carries many high-end items, but why should my grocer have to buy prime retail space just to put a bunch of short-shelf-life items on display in a beautiful shopping environment hoping that I'm happy to pay a 20% markup over a Safeway or other competitor?
Instacart is the best solution to the problem of "how do I keep my fridge and pantry stocked with the items I want with minimal cost and effort" problem.
Think about if we had to browse through cartons of mail in a local postal service warehouse just to collect our mail. Delivery makes perfect sense for things that we need on a routine basis.
> but tge same "shoping" experience has worked for many, many years.
This is almost an absurd luddite-ism and I won't even respond :)