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Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

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Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#121

Post by veritas3241 »

Surprised nobody has mentioned a different, sort-of competing model. Here in Nashville (and I assume other locations), Kroger offers ClickList[0]. Basically, order ahead of time via their website and select when you want to pick up from the store (w/o leaving your car).

It doesn't have the convenience of delivery, plus you typically have to order a day in advance, but it seems like the benefits would be that a) the people doing the picking are employees of the store, b) you're unlikely to not have a deliverable order, and c) you're probably out anyways and can schedule around your pickup.

Maybe this is more valuable outside of bigger cities, but I see people using it all the time around here. I haven't used it myself quite yet.

[0] https://www.kroger.com/topic/clicklist

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#122

Post by FireBeyond »

octernion wrote: post #94
tomnipotent wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> and again, we aren't the ones doing the markup So you claim, but since you refuse to list what the IC markup is then it's impossible for us to tell. You're essentially using the retailer markup as an excuse to hide instances of when you do it yourself. Thus the lack of transparency. In any given transaction, I have NO idea what the actual % that was added by IC. I do not have this problem with Amazon Prime.

again, in 99.99% of the cases, we aren't doing the markup. and, in the one case where we do not have a signed relationship with the retailer, we do explicitly note the percentage. we aren't hiding anything. and, you have that precise problem with amazon prime -- what markup are they charging?

> again, in 99.99% of the cases, we aren't doing the markup.

I find that hard to believe. That's the retailer markup? So you're just relying on the 0.01% (I know, arbitrary) where you do, and the opt-out $10 Service Charge to make money?

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#123

Post by zaidf »

clay_the_ripper wrote: post #14

I have never had a good experience with instacart. I’ve ordered from them probably 10-15 times and every single time, without fail, they either forget an item or replace an item with another item that I don’t want. This makes the service unusable, because if I’m cooking dinner that night and want to order instacart, there’s a high likelyhood I’ll be missing something crucial for my recepie, meaning I’ll have to go to…

Not to mention the shady fees. The last time I used instacart, there was a box checked called “service fee”, I clicked on it to see what it was and it said “this $10 charge is optional and helps us keep running instacart”. Meanwhile the tip for your driver box is not checked. I bet a large number of people assume the service fee is the tip, and leave tip blank. Blatant tip stealing.

To be fair, Amazon Prime also does this.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#124

Post by s0rce »

clay_the_ripper wrote: post #14

I have never had a good experience with instacart. I’ve ordered from them probably 10-15 times and every single time, without fail, they either forget an item or replace an item with another item that I don’t want. This makes the service unusable, because if I’m cooking dinner that night and want to order instacart, there’s a high likelyhood I’ll be missing something crucial for my recepie, meaning I’ll have to go to…

I've never used instacart but all the problems you've described I've had with Prime Now (Bay Area). Instacart also appears to have cheaper prices on some whole foods 365 items than Prime Now does...

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#125

Post by FireBeyond »

trs80 wrote: post #76
octernion wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as an engineer at instacart, it's very disheartening for me to see the top-rated comment on HN is "I can’t wait for instacart to go out of business." even if we did not provide value to you (which i apologize for -- it is a priority of ours to improve the replacement experience in particular as it is very frustrating to customers), i am not sure why that implies that we do not provide a valuable service for others an…

Isn't it illegal to offer a "store credit" instead of a refund in cases where IC forgot my items and I paid debit? Seems like a really shady way to bring customers back. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the whole concept of online ordering but the IC UI forces users into choices that benefit IC by default.

I believe when the refund is not the customer's fault (though some choose to do it then), that the refund is typically "by the medium paid" (with some waiting, or such, for things like uncleared checks, etc.), but I'm not sure if that's a product of merchant regulation, consumer law or 'policy'.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#126

Post by taley »

octernion wrote: post #68
rmaus wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have stake in this one way or the other, but will you argue in favor of Instacart's '$10 service fee' (as mentioned by parent commenter)?

i am not entirely sure what they mean by that. the service fee goes 100% towards the shopper fleet and is an essential part of a reasonable compensation structure for all of our shoppers -- if we switched entirely to tips, the folks that (e.g.) actually picked out your groceries, checked out & staged your groceries at the store, would not be compensated. this is because tips have to go 100% to one person, which would…

This is a blatant lie combined with omissions.

I’m a “full-service shopper” in a zone without any in-store teams, meaning that I do the shopping and the delivering. Since I’ve started, I have only seen the order commissions steadily deteriorate to the point that they are now about half of what they used to be a year ago.

I can assure you and anyone else reading that the so-called service fee is not going to any of us in the field. And many customers have stopped tipping assuming that the service fee is a tip.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#127

Post by notyourday »

octernion wrote: post #68
rmaus wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have stake in this one way or the other, but will you argue in favor of Instacart's '$10 service fee' (as mentioned by parent commenter)?

i am not entirely sure what they mean by that. the service fee goes 100% towards the shopper fleet and is an essential part of a reasonable compensation structure for all of our shoppers -- if we switched entirely to tips, the folks that (e.g.) actually picked out your groceries, checked out & staged your groceries at the store, would not be compensated. this is because tips have to go 100% to one person, which would…

Which is why Instacart is going to get crushed. Fee exists because instacart is not an integrated service. Supermarket margins are thin. They will only shrink more.

There's no reason why grocery store employees cannot fill orders - in fact grocery stores that do their own deliveries do exactly that. What those grocery stores lack is a platform to synchronize active inventory in a store and what is displayed which is exactly what Amazon brings to Whole Foods in addition to "intelligent" order routing:

There are three whole foods in Manhattan that are convenient to downtown - however, during the rush our one needs to be an idiot to send an order to the one on 7th Ave rather than the one in Tribeca, which is definitely not the case during the late afternoon.

What really amazes me is that both executives and people who work for companies like Instacart simply stomp their feet and say "But we are different! Why do you hate us?!" rather than address deficiency of the business model. Want to have a shot at competing with AmazonWF? Become a sub of Ahold, Kroger, Albertsons or SuperValu. Otherwise you die.

P.S. I dislike Amazon. I do, however, have to admit that buying WF was a brilliant move.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#128

Post by heifer2822 »

octernion wrote: post #66
kayhi wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never used Instacart, but your link to show transparency, doesn't actually state what the mark up is.. 2%, 10%, 25%, order minimum or there's fee.. Transparency to me, would mean I place order and know how much it will cost, instacart mark up, service fees and if a tip is included.

we used to provide specific percentages, but phased that out over time as it was obvious that wasn't providing real value -- where on amazon.com do you see their markup? additionally, for virtually all stores on instacart.com now, we are simply passing on the pricing that the retailer has given us (which may or not be marked up from their internal prices -- but we do not control) edit: to be crystal clear, that means…

I don't think it's comparable to Amazon's mark-up. The alternative to Amazon is walmart.com, ebay.com, etc., all of which can be directly compared. Instacart provides a delivery service. It's comparable to Uber Eats or Eat24. I agree with the others that it seems shady to provide a delivery service but obfuscate how much you're charging for delivery.

I know Uber Eats bans restaurants from marking up orders placed through them. You can look at your phone and decide exactly how much extra the delivery costs and then decide if it's worth it to not have to go pick up the food yourself. I've never used instacart but if you're telling me that the price of the service is a secret from me I have a problem would that and would not use it. I don't want to pay $50 to have someone pick up my groceries. But I'd gladly pay $10 on certain days. But I have to know beforehand. I'm not going to sit around and hope Instacart doesn't screw me over today.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#129

Post by ggg9990 »

tvanantwerp wrote: post #36
clay_the_ripper wrote: post #14

I have never had a good experience with instacart. I’ve ordered from them probably 10-15 times and every single time, without fail, they either forget an item or replace an item with another item that I don’t want. This makes the service unusable, because if I’m cooking dinner that night and want to order instacart, there’s a high likelyhood I’ll be missing something crucial for my recepie, meaning I’ll have to go to…

Similar experience. The app is fine, but the quality of shoppers usually isn't. Lots of forgotten items, unacceptable replacements, or just getting the wrong thing entirely. Once had a shopper who didn't know cucumbers from zucchini. Another time, we ordered 2 pounds of shrimp and got...2 shrimp. Just two little shrimp! Honestly, who would even think it makes sense that we would've ordered two individual shrimp? I've…

I routinely buy one shrimp because I don’t like shrimp but I cook it for my baby as part of getting her diverse foods.

Re: Instacart has raised another $200M at a $4.2B valuation

#130

Post by angryasian »

askafriend wrote: post #31
clay_the_ripper wrote: post #14

I have never had a good experience with instacart. I’ve ordered from them probably 10-15 times and every single time, without fail, they either forget an item or replace an item with another item that I don’t want. This makes the service unusable, because if I’m cooking dinner that night and want to order instacart, there’s a high likelyhood I’ll be missing something crucial for my recepie, meaning I’ll have to go to…

For me, the worst grocery delivery service is still miles better than going to a store and shopping for groceries. I'm OK with missing items, I'll just get a refund and deal with it. It's still far far better than dealing with a physical grocery store. I'm sure there are millions of others like me.

I don't agree but to each their own. Now with self checkout, 4 major supermarkets near me and I tend to go later at night.. I really don't see the problem
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