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Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

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Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#81

Post by aianus »

tshtf wrote: post #52
brudgers wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I was caught up in the anti-Walmart meme [and I'm using "meme" dismissively] for many years, today Walmart provides jobs in my community and those jobs appear to be stable with regular shifts because I often see the same cashiers at the same times one year to the next. I'll add that Walmart also generates local sales and income tax revenue [and sometimes property tax] that helps make schools and roads and fire…

Sure, Walmart provides jobs in your community... But they cost state and federal taxpayers in a significant way. Walmart's business model depends on state and federal government assistance to their low-paid workers: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/the-high-public-cost-of-low-... It is true that Walmart brings in local revenues through sales and property taxes, however this is more than offset by the assistance state…

I never understood this meme. How would the state save money if those people sat at home instead of working at Walmart? How is it Walmart's fault that the minimum wage is so low and the regulations are written in such a way as to incentivize part-time labour over full-time labour?

Hate the game, not the player.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#82

Post by rco8786 »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #27

I'm always surprised grocery delivery is still a big deal in the US. All the major supermarkets in the UK do home delivery, next day, for a £3-5 delivery fee. You can go the site, fill your basket, and checkout. You also get a 1-2 hour delivery slot so you don't have to wait at home all day. We also have Amazon Prime Now doing grocery delivery within 1 hour in some cities. I can see how it would be a problem in some…

At least in NYC, the local chains will do same day delivery.

I think it's a matter of geography/density

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#83

Post by blackguardx »

brianbreslin wrote: post #35
k-mcgrady wrote: post #27

I'm always surprised grocery delivery is still a big deal in the US. All the major supermarkets in the UK do home delivery, next day, for a £3-5 delivery fee. You can go the site, fill your basket, and checkout. You also get a 1-2 hour delivery slot so you don't have to wait at home all day. We also have Amazon Prime Now doing grocery delivery within 1 hour in some cities. I can see how it would be a problem in some…

My guess is that its due to traditionally very sprawled out cities in the US. Huge amounts of the population live miles away from grocery stores. I think in New York you were able to get delivery for years for groceries if you were willing to pay the local grocer extra.

When I lived in New York 5 years ago, every grocery store I went to had some sort of delivery option.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#84

Post by ams6110 »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #60
agmcleod wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you guys keep vegetables fresh for 2 weeks? That's usually why i go a couple times a week. Usually buy a pack of meat to have for a few nights of dinner, vegetables to use as well. Then get more once it's used up.

There was a time when canned and frozen vegetables were more common than fresh. I can't eat them today, but that's what we ate growing up.

Same. Most veggies we either grew in the backyard garden or were frozen from the store. People don't remember that the vast fresh produce sections you see at most supermarkets today are relatively new. Back then you might have lettuce, carrots, potatoes, and maybe a few other things available fresh and the quality was not always great.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#85

Post by brudgers »

tshtf wrote: post #78
brudgers wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree. I think Walmart expresses the structure of health care access in the United States. I don't think the contractor model as implemented in the consumer facing gig economy or more traditionally in Amazon's warehouses has noticeably better economic outcomes for workers. My impression is that when journalists muckrake contract labor, healthcare access gets lumped in with employment instability and attemp…

Agreed. The gig/contractor model is certainly no better for workers than Walmart, and is perhaps worse.

The anti-Walmart meme makes it easy to assign responsibility to Walmart while still assuming the status quo regarding access to the health care system and the underlying economics.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#86

Post by icebraining »

ghaff wrote: post #62
dvcc wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure where you live but this is pretty common in the north east (ShopRite etc.). To me though, I feel like there are misaligned incentives when employees pick food vs. the customer picks the food. Why should the employee care if the bread is going bad tomorrow instead of a week? The added time-savings just don't offset that concern for me.

I can't say that concerns with expiration dates are high on my list of issues when I'm grocery shopping. That said, if I'm going to order online anyway, I'm not sure why I wouldn't just have it delivered--maybe for a few bucks more--than driving to the store. Maybe if I'm not very mobile but can still drive, but then I still need to unload the car. I don't really understand the use case.

Sometimes you can't be sure when you'll be at home to receive them.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#87

Post by bkor »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #44

Isn't this a bit going the wrong way somehow? Growing up, mom went grocery shopping once every 2 weeks. We'd load up 2 or 3 shopping carts that filled 8 or 10 grocery bags. One auto trip every 2 weeks for groceries. With all the delivery services for restaurants, groceries, and more and more sundries, the trips to my house are made for less and less 'stuff' per trip. More trips per household obviously means more gaso…

Depends on the country. I shop for food almost daily (basically buy as I need; store almost nothing). There's a supermarket 100 meters away. Another 150 meters. Last one (with bad opening times) is 200 meters. Next one is then 1 km away or so.

If within walking/cycling distance your habits change quite a bit.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#88

Post by brudgers »

ethanbond wrote: post #38
brudgers wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I was caught up in the anti-Walmart meme [and I'm using "meme" dismissively] for many years, today Walmart provides jobs in my community and those jobs appear to be stable with regular shifts because I often see the same cashiers at the same times one year to the next. I'll add that Walmart also generates local sales and income tax revenue [and sometimes property tax] that helps make schools and roads and fire…

Everyone in your town was unemployed, had irregular shifts, and didn't have a functional fire station before Walmart came to town? I think you're missing the nuance between "Walmart should leave," and "Walmart shouldn't have come." Of course, we can only act on the future, so maybe the nuance is meaningless at this point.

No. That was not the case.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#89

Post by zumicts »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #27

I'm always surprised grocery delivery is still a big deal in the US. All the major supermarkets in the UK do home delivery, next day, for a £3-5 delivery fee. You can go the site, fill your basket, and checkout. You also get a 1-2 hour delivery slot so you don't have to wait at home all day. We also have Amazon Prime Now doing grocery delivery within 1 hour in some cities. I can see how it would be a problem in some…

Well, Amazon Prime Now was available here first. Especially here in Seattle, hometown of Amazon after all.

Re: Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft

#90

Post by KJKingJ »

mfenniak wrote: post #63
KJKingJ wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mine are always one off orders. I'll log on, choose an hourly timeslot for delivery and then browse down a list of products i've purchased before (both online and instore) and chose which ones I want to be delivered. It takes about 10-15 minutes to do and they will deliver everything right to my door. It ends up being a huge timesaver compared to having to go to and from the supermarket and pick everything out. I ten…

I feel like a "mini-supermarket" is just a market; the super and mini should cancel each other out. :-)

Heh yeah, it's a bit of a contradictory term, but it's the only 'generic' way to describe it that I know of. Most of them are branded with the store's name with a suffix like 'local', 'express' or 'metro'
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