I am interested in other peoples experience with Instacart as a provider. Their model is interesting but in NYC my anecdotal experience with them has been really poor. In this market their are several viable alternatives and I would rank them near at the bottom. I don't intend this as a flame, I really want to know if they run a tighter ship in other markets that don't have some of the challenges that NYC presents. Thanks.
Instacart raises another $150M
21–30 of 48 posts
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#22My wife just noticed Costco is offering same day shipping, I thought it odd that they could get the logistics down and it turned out to be Instacart. I have personally used it but might now so I don't have to brave the traffic/chaos that a suburban Costco can be. That being said I haven't heard great things about IC in my area. It, admittedly just now, strikes me that taking away the headache of Costco would be prett…
Are the costco prices based on their warehouse pricing or their online pricing? I've seen lots of items that are up to 50% cheaper in the store than what they advertise online.
Each store has a different pricing policy. Plus delivery fees/tips.
https://www.instacart.com/store/costco/about
Prices vary from in-warehouse Prices are higher than your local warehouse. Costco members also do not earn 2% executive reward on Instacart.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#23Last time this happened I said Instacart is a middleman and I didn't see their opportunity to break out and be a market maker. But I just realized a potential endgame: Instacart will be Amazon Prime (the subscription delivery business) without the need to be Amazon (the retail, global-scale logistics, and marketing company). Do I want to pay 30% extra on every individual order from local stores to have Instacart hand…
instacart express is 150/year or 15/month for unlimited free delivery over 35.
the few times ive used it the experience hasnt been great though, so couldnt imagine using it enough for that to be worth it
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#24My wife just noticed Costco is offering same day shipping, I thought it odd that they could get the logistics down and it turned out to be Instacart. I have personally used it but might now so I don't have to brave the traffic/chaos that a suburban Costco can be. That being said I haven't heard great things about IC in my area. It, admittedly just now, strikes me that taking away the headache of Costco would be prett…
How is this different from Google Express? Google Express has somewhat recently eliminated the need for a subscription and deliver products from many local stores including Costco and Walmart, although admittedly the Walmart selection isn't quite everything I would hope for.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#25I am interested in other peoples experience with Instacart as a provider. Their model is interesting but in NYC my anecdotal experience with them has been really poor. In this market their are several viable alternatives and I would rank them near at the bottom. I don't intend this as a flame, I really want to know if they run a tighter ship in other markets that don't have some of the challenges that NYC presents. T…
Unfortunately it seems like it's really hit or miss depending on which worker handles the order.
Some days I get exactly what I ask for really quickly, when other days I'll have my shopper switching 25% of my requested items with alternates (some of which are wildly off base).
My biggest frustration is that it seems like the shoppers aren't intimately familiar with my local grocery stores. I'll request an item that I know exists, they'll swap it out for something completely different and not what I want, yet if I personally go to the store, I'll easily find the item I requested.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#26I am interested in other peoples experience with Instacart as a provider. Their model is interesting but in NYC my anecdotal experience with them has been really poor. In this market their are several viable alternatives and I would rank them near at the bottom. I don't intend this as a flame, I really want to know if they run a tighter ship in other markets that don't have some of the challenges that NYC presents. T…
I've had a great experience in the Bay Area, however that's primarily ordering from larger stores like Whole Foods/Costco where their inventory systems seem to be pretty up-to-date.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#27They've raised $1 billion dollars. How does their business model survive a economic downturn ~ where their service might be deemed unneeded?
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#28They've raised $1 billion dollars. How does their business model survive a economic downturn ~ where their service might be deemed unneeded?
Well they cater to the wealthy. Who else could afford adding 30% to their grocery bill every week? And the wealthy are better equipped to weather a downturn than anyone else.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#29Last time this happened I said Instacart is a middleman and I didn't see their opportunity to break out and be a market maker. But I just realized a potential endgame: Instacart will be Amazon Prime (the subscription delivery business) without the need to be Amazon (the retail, global-scale logistics, and marketing company). Do I want to pay 30% extra on every individual order from local stores to have Instacart hand…
instacart express is 150/year or 15/month for unlimited free delivery over 35. the few times ive used it the experience hasnt been great though, so couldnt imagine using it enough for that to be worth it
I had Instacart express for a year (it was $99/year).
I cancelled it after a year. If I want nothing but dry goods, I'll get them on Prime Now: the Instacart shoppers couldn't buy the produce at the quality that I would expect it to be for that price...so, I just go to Whole Foods and buy my own groceries now.
Re: Instacart raises another $150M
#30Hopefully this means I'll get more investor subsidized groceries!