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Google Shopping Express

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Re: Google Shopping Express

#62
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I wouldn't expect the richest county to be the target... it's probably not very dense because of large houses/yards, and everyone probably owns a car. I'd expect them to go with urban areas first, both because the higher density would make such a service more cost-effective to operate, and because car-free people are going to get the most use out of this, since there are lots more things that are hard to buy wit…

Of course there is an urban advantage to services like this. In high density areas, the economics of the delivery service can make financial sense. This isn't sour grapes, I probably wouldn't use the service anyways. But consider this, the Bay Area (the premier delivery zone) has less than half the density of my town, which is on the edge of the principle tech corridor of the entire East Coast, which carries 70% of a…

Funnily enough, I live in DC, in the city, and I'm part of the car-free urban demographic I described, as are many of my friends and coworkers, and I could see a lot of us making pretty heavy use of this kind of service... and comparing myself/my peer group to, e.g., Gaithersburg or Loudoun County, was exactly what I had in mind with my comment, where I think the former is much more likely to be successful.

Totally agreed, though, that the focus shouldn't just be on NYC and SF, and that the DC metro area and the Bay are demographically similar.

Re: Google Shopping Express

#63

What I really need is a service that can deliver milk and eggs and other staples in a day, seems like most cant do that.

How about in an hour? Check us out: http://instacart.com

Would love to use this service, but instacart does not service my neighborhood yet! Zipcode 95123 in San Jose.

Re: Google Shopping Express

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know why they don't deliver alcohol?

They do now. I've ordered it. If I had to guess, I imagine it's not a legal requirement you want to tackle right away when you're just getting started.

So they do! That's interesting. Did you have to be home to take delivery for it?

Also it doesn't look like they've added it for Costco which is a shame.

Re: Google Shopping Express

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about in an hour? Check us out: http://instacart.com

Would love to use this service, but instacart does not service my neighborhood yet! Zipcode 95123 in San Jose.

Instacart has been a game changer in Chicago. (I knew peapod existed but have been following instacart since they launched). Nothing like not having a car and needing 24 packs of pop for a party.

Re: Google Shopping Express

#66
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course there is an urban advantage to services like this. In high density areas, the economics of the delivery service can make financial sense. This isn't sour grapes, I probably wouldn't use the service anyways. But consider this, the Bay Area (the premier delivery zone) has less than half the density of my town, which is on the edge of the principle tech corridor of the entire East Coast, which carries 70% of a…

Funnily enough, I live in DC, in the city, and I'm part of the car-free urban demographic I described, as are many of my friends and coworkers, and I could see a lot of us making pretty heavy use of this kind of service... and comparing myself/my peer group to, e.g., Gaithersburg or Loudoun County, was exactly what I had in mind with my comment, where I think the former is much more likely to be successful. Totally a…

Honestly, I'm always curious why we don't see Chicago in these kinds of services as well. I totally get why NYC, but there's a lot of cities in the country between NYC and the Bay Area that have better characteristics for this kind of service. (there's lots also, for demographic reasons, wouldn't be ideal as well).

I try not to spend much time in D.C., but I'm conflicted if the demographics are good enough yet, in the city proper, to support something like this. I recognize the city is changing very rapidly and might be at a point where this makes sense now.

I can tell you that at least in Loudoun and Fairfax counties, there's enough work-at-home and stay-at-home folks, and good road infrastructure, and suitable density, that this would probably be successful. Most of the local grocery stores and restaurants stay pretty busy running things around.

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