Really well done. Thank you!
1,635 karma · joined April 24, 2010
Our metrics to date seem to disagree with your speculation about people not having the time to cook. There are also a host of products that Instacart carries for occasions other than dinner, like sundries, snacks and beer. These are our most popular items. Also, I agree that it would be a terrible experience for the customer if items arrived expired or broken - which is why we take such great care to make sure that those things don't happen.
We've also found that a 3-hour delivery is very convenient for most customers, and it's by far the most preferred option. With regards to delivery from grocery stores themselves: please try ordering something from one in the next hour.
That is too high level. Let me explain more clearly for one specific case of order substitution. Since we are focusing on a niche (groceries), our system has already calculated the substitutes of items. We know how to substitute a Store Brand Ketchup to Heinz IF needed.
A lot of what I know about logistics is from my time at Amazon Supply Chain, where I dealt specifically with the challenge of fulfilling packages to the customer from AMZN FCs (aka warehouses). And, at Instacart we believe we can have the same efficiencies IF we model the stores in a city just like AMZN modeled warehouses across the world.
Specifically, Kozmo.com was founded in an era where you could IPO without having profits. Having that mentality from day one allowed them to make huge concessions to users such as give them free delivery on everything, and not have a minimum order. For example, you could pay $1.50 for a gum on Kozmo and get it delivered to you within an hour. WebVan, on the other hand spend $1B on building it's own warehouses and fulfillment infrastructure.
Learning from those companies, we have done a lot of things differently. For starters, there is a minimum order of $10. There is a delivery fee of $3.99 for 3 hours and $9.99 for 1 hour. (Would you not pay $4 for someone to do all your groceries?) And, we do not hold any inventory - all of it is sourced directly from local retailers.
It is also important to mention that the time that we live in is very different. People are a lot more comfortable adding their credit card information on web/mobile. Not to mention, the access to smart phones that people have gives customers the ability to shop from anywhere - office, couch, next to the fridge.
We believe we are different from the companies that have tried this in the past. And, we hope we are live in your hometown very soon.
(edits to follow)
But the product does not work.