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Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

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Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#21

Post by Nition »

a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

I read your article. In New Zealand the Countdown supermarket chain has an online ordering system: https://shop.countdown.co.nz

You select your local supermarket, and it has a pretty good idea of what they actually have because it's an official service. You can also specify per item whether substitutions can be made, and if necessary they'll try to find a good alternative (like your "different salsa") if they can. The times you end up with a substitution or no item sound VERY low compared to your experience with Instacart. You might order 40 items and get a couple of subs if you're unlucky.

It also sounds cheaper than Instacart. It costs around $10USD for delivery (depends on how much your order), or around $3.50USD if you want to collect from the store,which is still super convenient because you just go in and wheel out your already-full trolly.

I'm kind of surprised that supermarkets doing delivery doesn't seem to be a big thing in the US. Usually we're the ones who are a few years behind.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#22

Post by simplehuman »

Nition wrote: post #21
a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

I read your article. In New Zealand the Countdown supermarket chain has an online ordering system: https://shop.countdown.co.nz You select your local supermarket, and it has a pretty good idea of what they actually have because it's an official service. You can also specify per item whether substitutions can be made, and if necessary they'll try to find a good alternative (like your "different salsa") if they can. Th…

Safeway does delivery in the US AFAIK

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#23

Post by lkhatter »

chejazi wrote: post #19
a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

Integrating inventory across various grocery stores would be ideal, but it seems like a big undertaking not to mention it clashes with the shopping experience (e.g. customers keep items in their shopping carts for long times) I like the idea of warehouses, though the requirement to stock items seems restrictive, kinda like when Google Shopping Express launched - it had such a small selection of products. One potentia…

I'm pretty sure they're doing this, It was in an interview the ceo had with techcrunch.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#24

Post by baddox »

simplehuman wrote: post #22
Nition wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read your article. In New Zealand the Countdown supermarket chain has an online ordering system: https://shop.countdown.co.nz You select your local supermarket, and it has a pretty good idea of what they actually have because it's an official service. You can also specify per item whether substitutions can be made, and if necessary they'll try to find a good alternative (like your "different salsa") if they can. Th…

Safeway does delivery in the US AFAIK

I used their delivery service in SF about five years ago. The delivery and item correctness itself was fine, but the online ordering system was atrocious and seemed to have either a very limited inventory or terrible searching/browsing (or both). I think we also had to have over $100, or maybe that was just to get free delivery.

The experience wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't sticky. We never used it again.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#25

Post by ironchief »

a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

Amazon is playing to win here.

Tech: The Dash Wand [1] puts Alexa on your refrigerator and every time you scan an item, Amazon is building up a database of the most popular SKUs they should add to their warehouse.

Scale: Scale is the name of the game and Instacart is playing with a losing hand. Vans/trucks are more efficient than cars, warehouses > grocery stores, robot shelves > store runners.

Anecdote: Instacart was popular in Boston until Fresh opened last year. There is now a large pile of Amazon bags for pickup everyday in my front lobby.

Price: Amazon has many of the exact same items as Instacart/wholefoods but at lower prices. My grocery bill went down about 20%

[1]https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-All-New-Dash-Wand/dp/B015YEXOR...

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#26

Post by badminton1 »

a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

Amazon is a superior service.

I initially used Instacart. But then started to notice my orders would often need replacement items. So I opted for no replacements, and it was even worse... because items that were very relevant in my order were left out and I had to order again. In addition, prices were very high compared to the store.

Then, they wouldn't show up on the scheduled times. Then, if you canceled the order and talked to customer support, they would try to uncancel the order and schedule it for a completely arbitrary time where you might not even be home, a lot of decision making on your behalf with no confirmation.

After all that chaos and constant fighting with customer support I switched to Amazon. They show up on time, the use durable packaging that is refrigerated if necessary, the prices are reasonable, item availability is "what you see is what you get" with no replacements, the delivery fee is a flat yearly fee... In all the time I have using Amazon Fresh or Prime now, I have had ZERO arguments with them.

Now I only order from Amazon. In addition to that, they have the Amazon Dash, which I can use to scan the barcodes for the products I need to reorder to quickly add them to the cart, or set reminders for items I need to buy using Amazon Echo.

Note that I am not affiliated with Amazon in any way.

If I had to use Instacart again, I would probably use it to order 20 gallons of water, and then go to the store myself to buy the rest. The website is very incompetent at reflecting the effective stock and the system is not good at finding/suggesting replacements. The last time I used Instacart was to literally see what my last order was, so I could order the same things via Amazon.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#27

Post by biggc »

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Every supermarket in Montrela offers phone orders and home delivery for a fee of less than $5 if your order is big enough ($50+). If you want to, you can even do your shopping in the store, and pay about two bucks to have them deliver to your house if it was in a few km.

I just checked, and one of the smaller chains (4 stores) has their own online ordering platform.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#29

Post by greglindahl »

oculusthrift wrote: post #18
omarchowdhury wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There hasn't been any net yet.

True. But I'd assume at the very least it nets you a fat salary befitting a founder of a 3bn company.

That's not how salaries work at the startups I've been a part of.

Re: Instacart in Talks to Raise $400M at $3B Valuation

#30

Post by throwaway91111 »

a13n wrote: post #12

I was going to post a comment about Instacart here, but instead decided to write a little thing on Medium. Why Instacart is gonna get crushed by Amazon https://medium.com/@a13n/why-instacart-is-gonna-get-crushed-...

How is amazon for fresh produce and meat, particularly local fresh produce and meat? I know grocery delivery can get me that.
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