I love Instacart and use the product with our startup probably 2-3times a week. Going to the grocery store takes at least an hour when you consider driving and standing in line. Instacart is like 7-11 - you never plan to a trip to 7-11 and always pay a premium, but it's everywhere and convenient. It's great that if I crave Ben&Jerry's ice cream, I can buy it and have it delivered in under 3 hours.
With the added Trader Joe's delivery service, our Instacart usage will probably bump to 4 times a week.
"It's great that if I crave Ben&Jerry's ice cream, I can buy it and have it delivered in under 3 hours."
Every time I wanted ice cream, it was in my hands in a matter of minutes not hours :). Detergents, soaps, medicines etc can be bought via Amazon, Drugstore.com etc. Fruits and veggies...you actually want to see before buying them.
I don't think this will scale. Prices will have to be a lot more expensive than normal grocery shopping, so adoption will be limited. Even if it takes just one hour, the person doing the shopping has to be paid, instacart has to make a profit and that will jack up the price. I understand the convenience factor, but for the vast majority of people it's not a good tradeoff. That said, Instacart can become a niche player and still make money.
What's up with Instacart not letting you browse without logging in?
