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Why? Instacart uses humans to pick inventory from a "warehouse" and deliver it to the buyer. Amazon needs people to pick and pack, they can't just use robots to

Why? Instacart uses humans to pick inventory from a "warehouse" and deliver it to the buyer. Amazon needs people to pick and pack, they can't just use robots to store cereal boxes on the nearest shelf in the grocery store. I bet Instacart was a major reason why Amazon bought WF. Actually, didn't Apoorva work for Amazon before creating Instacart?

tuna-piano 9y ago
I would definitely guess not. Why would Amazon pick and pack from a retail store and not a distribution center? And what does Instacart bring to the table? Amazon already has a website and seems to have no trouble building gigantic on-demand workforces. What else does Instacart have? I would guess close to 100% of Instacart users already use Amazon for things as well. I don't see things ending up well for Instacart at all.
- zebrafish 9y ago
  I'm thinking that the grocery store would be the distribution center. I don't know what their transportation lanes look like but most produce just goes from the field to the grocery store. If you're already storing it there, why put it in a distro center when these stores are in the same locations. Instacart brings a userbase. Heck, maybe Amazon just buys Instacart as well. Not sure if amazon's FCs are currently equipped to store produce and milk and other things like that. Just seems like they can take advantage of existing supply chains and synergies if they embrace Instacart.
  - foobarbazetc 9y ago
    Amazon has no need for Instacart. None. They already have the infrastructure in place to replace Instacart overnight. Every Instacart shopper currently working for Instacart hates Instacart. Amazon can just hire them all away, run their own logistics, profit. That's not to say it won't be worse than Instacart. It most definitely will be.
    - octernion 9y ago
      Every Instacart shopper currently working for Instacart hates Instacart. citation needed As the engineering manager actually looking at our NPS scores from our shoppers it's disheartening to see this kind of blatantly wrong trolling on HN... if you actually have any insight (other than outdated and wrong news articles from last year), I'd love to see it. I'm personally excited for the opportunity this affords us -- completely validating this space and market.
  - dsmithatx 9y ago
    60% of US households have a prime membership. I'd say the majority of Instacart's database is already a prime member anyway. Whole Foods customers would just switch to Amazon even if they move away from Instacart.

tuna-piano 9y ago

I would definitely guess not. Why would Amazon pick and pack from a retail store and not a distribution center? And what does Instacart bring to the table? Amazon already has a website and seems to have no trouble building gigantic on-demand workforces. What else does Instacart have? I would guess close to 100% of Instacart users already use Amazon for things as well. I don't see things ending up well for Instacart at all.

zebrafish 9y ago
I'm thinking that the grocery store would be the distribution center. I don't know what their transportation lanes look like but most produce just goes from the field to the grocery store. If you're already storing it there, why put it in a distro center when these stores are in the same locations. Instacart brings a userbase. Heck, maybe Amazon just buys Instacart as well. Not sure if amazon's FCs are currently equipped to store produce and milk and other things like that. Just seems like they can take advantage of existing supply chains and synergies if they embrace Instacart.
- foobarbazetc 9y ago
  Amazon has no need for Instacart. None. They already have the infrastructure in place to replace Instacart overnight. Every Instacart shopper currently working for Instacart hates Instacart. Amazon can just hire them all away, run their own logistics, profit. That's not to say it won't be worse than Instacart. It most definitely will be.
  - octernion 9y ago
    Every Instacart shopper currently working for Instacart hates Instacart. citation needed As the engineering manager actually looking at our NPS scores from our shoppers it's disheartening to see this kind of blatantly wrong trolling on HN... if you actually have any insight (other than outdated and wrong news articles from last year), I'd love to see it. I'm personally excited for the opportunity this affords us -- completely validating this space and market.
- dsmithatx 9y ago
  60% of US households have a prime membership. I'd say the majority of Instacart's database is already a prime member anyway. Whole Foods customers would just switch to Amazon even if they move away from Instacart.