If DoorDash goes all in groceries, is Instacart in trouble?
*Post coming from outsider looking in* All of my non-tech friends heard of DoorDash and use it once in a while but none have heard of Instacart. Sometimes if a product comes out with a good idea first, they aren’t always the most successful if the second company has a better brand name (think PUBG vs Fortnite - Epic is making billions). DoorDash overtook GoPuff as the market leader in convenience delivery after entering the market in just a year. I am still scratching my head how Instacart and Uber Eats didn’t get control of this vertical since we’ve been in it for longer? I don’t think it is simply because DD executed convenience better, they have a stronger brand name. If DD goes all in with grocery (since they already have partnerships with so many retailers like Rite Aid, Petco, Macy’s, etc), is there a chance Instacart becomes the Android to DD’s iOS? Reason I ask, I have been approached by recruiters at both DD and Instacart. DD overtook Uber and Grubhub with 10% the budget when they were private (this is actually very impressive and scary). Now Instacart is the underdog but even as a public company I feel DD didn’t lose its footing, they still have the dog eat dog mentality when they private but now have a 5B war chest from their IPO.
Do you believe that grocery delivery (as opposed to convenience or late-night shopping) is something that people really want? I’m not convinced that the market of people who are willing to put in effort to cook but who are not willing to go to the grocery store is all that big.
I do grocery pickup no one need delivery except occasionally, so these startups are dead.
I use Amazon Prime Now. They have a pretty great selection between their own inventory and Whole Foods and it’s free for Prime members.
I only use Amazon fresh/amazon prime now, cheap and fast, and great customer service, can't wait for their zoox grocery delivery system to come out.
Why not Dashmart or goPuff?
The issue with grocery delivery is the huge delivery cost. For a restaurant meal a person willingly pays 30% as service/delivery/taxes etc. as it is meeting an immediate need that they can’t be bothered to go out for. With groceries the immediacy factor isn’t there, so people tend to postpone it till they can make the trip. This is the reason why Walmart and Amazon has the upper hand in grocery delivery as they can match the price of the store, and even with a little convenience fee, it would come out way cheaper compared to instacart or DD with their level of service fees.
Personally I’ve been gradually switching to delivery. When there is an option, I add $5-$10 as tip as well which overall saves me a lot of time. Deliveries come same day or next day early morning.
Grocery is hard to get into. Cataloging is hard. In store mapping is hard. Item replacement is hard. If warehouses become a thing, that’s a huge investment too. Getting exclusive contracts is hard. Convenience store is what DD is in now and that is easier. DD can get into it but IC has a huge headstart and it is very expensive to compete here esp when DD can use that money elsewhere. Amazon Fresh and Walmart+ is scary. People no longer using IC after covid is scary. DD is not scary.
Wonder who does the delivery for Walmart same day in most states eh ? Plus your assumptions are nice …
So, does DoorDash do cataloging, store mapping, item replacement, warehouses, shopping for Walmart and have exclusive partnership with them? My assumption was that they don’t, are they wrong?
Having someone to pick up groceries from stores and deliver to your home is not a sustainable business model in normal days. Especially in places with low population density and high labor cost. The only business model that might work is Amazon fresh where you get scheduled delivery from warehouse.
Instacart interface sucks. Shipt is way easier to use IMHO.
They need to get into a partnership with Kroger. If they pushed instacart out of that space, I think it's a matter of time.
The grocery space in interesting. WalMart is the biggest player and if the get their act together they can best ic and amazon. Ic and DD are very similar in their capabilities and since ic has a headstart I don't dd can dislodge them. More concerning is with vaccination will ppl really need these services
Were you drunk when you typed this?
Are you high or are you dumb?