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I met people in London who also pay people to grocery shop for them. For most staples I'm pretty sure this could probably be cheaper then having a grocery store

by s0rce 9y ago

I met people in London who also pay people to grocery shop for them. For most staples I'm pretty sure this could probably be cheaper then having a grocery store in SF, they could have a warehouse in Fremont.

kbutler 9y ago
We could call it "HomeGrocer" or maybe that's too specific - how about "Webvan"? (I agree though, I think this is something that is going to happen - just have to find the right business model at the right time.)
- dylz 9y ago
  Doesn't that exist in the form of primenow, doordash, seamless, grubhub, instacart, uber eats, [...]? From what I remember I've seen quite a few "night time delivery only, no pickup allowed" grocery "restaurants" on those services
- pault 9y ago
  Eh? I don't have a car and do _all_ of my shopping via amazon now and instacart (direct from Whole Foods). I get deliveries 3-4 times per week.
  - joshyeager 9y ago
    Kbutler is joking. HomeGrocer and WebVan were early companies that attempted to sell groceries on the Internet. They both collapsed in the dot-com crash. I am not sure why they failed but more recent attempts seem to be succeeding. My two current theories are: 1. They were ahead of their time. There weren't enough people shopping on the Internet to sustain them back then. 2. They were killed by structural obstacles that may also kill the new versions.
- InitialLastName 9y ago
  Something about how you can get Fresh food Directly from the warehouse.
- rsynnott 9y ago
  In the UK and Ireland the big supermarket chains do deliveries for cheap (7.50 euro per month from Tesco, for instance, or a few euro per shot if you pay as you go). The catch is that it is generally believed that, at least outside certain high-density urban areas, they're doing this at a loss; it may not be sustainable.
  - Symbiote 9y ago
    Tesco have been doing online ordering since 1997, so it seems unlikely is unsustainable.

by s0rce 9y ago

kbutler 9y ago

We could call it "HomeGrocer" or maybe that's too specific - how about "Webvan"? (I agree though, I think this is something that is going to happen - just have to find the right business model at the right time.)

dylz 9y ago
Doesn't that exist in the form of primenow, doordash, seamless, grubhub, instacart, uber eats, [...]? From what I remember I've seen quite a few "night time delivery only, no pickup allowed" grocery "restaurants" on those services
pault 9y ago
Eh? I don't have a car and do _all_ of my shopping via amazon now and instacart (direct from Whole Foods). I get deliveries 3-4 times per week.
- joshyeager 9y ago
  Kbutler is joking. HomeGrocer and WebVan were early companies that attempted to sell groceries on the Internet. They both collapsed in the dot-com crash. I am not sure why they failed but more recent attempts seem to be succeeding. My two current theories are: 1. They were ahead of their time. There weren't enough people shopping on the Internet to sustain them back then. 2. They were killed by structural obstacles that may also kill the new versions.
InitialLastName 9y ago
Something about how you can get Fresh food Directly from the warehouse.
rsynnott 9y ago
In the UK and Ireland the big supermarket chains do deliveries for cheap (7.50 euro per month from Tesco, for instance, or a few euro per shot if you pay as you go). The catch is that it is generally believed that, at least outside certain high-density urban areas, they're doing this at a loss; it may not be sustainable.
- Symbiote 9y ago
  Tesco have been doing online ordering since 1997, so it seems unlikely is unsustainable.