Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper

Re:Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper by ruswick on Friday June 14, 2013 @09:24PM (#5883451)

I can understand why Instacart may be of value in suburban or rural areas where people likely don't have trivial access to grocery stores, but it seems entirely superfluous for city-dwellers.

Grocery stores are fairly abundant in cities. Within a four-block radius from my house, there is a Jewel, a Whole Foods, four corner stores, and a Trader Joe's under construction. I honestly don't know how Instacart maintains business in San Francisco proper.

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Re:Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper by nairteashop on Friday June 14, 2013 @09:53PM (#5883542)

Well, I live in SF. As you say, I have several grocery stores within 0.5 miles of my home. The problem? I live on top of a hill; the stores are at the bottom. There is absolutely no way I'm lugging grocery up the hill on foot or on my bike. What about public transport? There is a long wait (muni sucks, esp where I live), and then there is still a bit of lugging to/from the bus stop.

Grocery shopping is literally the only reason I still own a car and pay ridiculous city insurance rates. I don't use it to go to work, meet friends for dinner/drinks, or anything else for that matter.

And then of course, there are times when I couldn't be arsed to go grocery shopping :)

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Re:Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper by HorizonXP on Friday June 14, 2013 @11:51PM (#5883905)

I'm currently in Palo Alto, and I do not have a vehicle, except for a bicycle. I will see how long I can hold out, but so far, I've bought all of my furniture and household items through Amazon and a local dealer, and had them delivered. Groceries come from Instacart.

Tomorrow, I need to go to Ikea to get some other items, since I wasn't a fan of what's available on Amazon, or the pricing on other sites. I plan to use ZipCar.

Instacart is one of the many services that are helping me to lead a car-free lifestyle here in Palo Alto. I'm from Toronto, and I wish I could have accomplished the same when I was there.

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Re:Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper by kevingibbon on Saturday June 15, 2013 @12:05AM (#5883958)

I didn't realize no car in Palo Alto+ was doable.

I do the above in SF.

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Re:Instacart (YC S12) is now not just easier, but cheaper by pbj on Friday June 14, 2013 @11:50PM (#5883897)

Don't underestimate just how much of a value prop that something like this can bring to the table even if you do live in a city. I think of something like this as an ultimate convenience. Imagine you've had a long day at work, you've got family responsibilities or other plans afterwards, you're tired, you're hungry, etc. The last thing you probably want to do is spend even more time of your already busy schedule shopping for groceries.

Even with grocery stores nearby, you still have to go fight crowds of people, take all the time to find everything on your list, wait in line, wait to get checked out, then get your stuff and walk back to your place. A single trip can be exhausting, and even more so if you're introverted and/or hate dealing with crowds of people. Narrow aisles, the elderly, and annoying loud/crying kids can make for an infuriating trip if you're just trying to get your stuff and go asap.

Or... you could use something like this and have all of this taken care of for you.

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