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I suspect that it's been difficult to keep so many staffed and open, especially since the pandemic. Also, there may be a glut of grocery stores currently; I ca

I suspect that it's been difficult to keep so many staffed and open, especially since the pandemic. Also, there may be a glut of grocery stores currently; I can swing a cat and hit 13 brands of assorted stores in the grocery business. Not counting dollar stores, food banks, ethnic, convenience, hyperlocal farmer's markets, and various co-op/mobile fresh veg services and gardens. If I think about it, it's nearly ridiculous how many different food outlets there are in that space; all need staffing and profits and customers. Plus, in this day and age, services such as Instacart are leveling the playing field to where I can 1-click shop at as many stores as I choose. With this sort of consumer power, plus inflation and a crazy labor market, consolidation and closures are practically inevitable. I'm not going to blame these giants for doing pragmatic things, but yeah, it's gonna hurt.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago
Instacart has its own set of prices for the stores it pulls from. You're not doing true competitive shopping by using them, you're subject to whatever agreement they have with those chains and possibly individual product brands.
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  My point with Instacart (as a primary example of vendor-neutral delivery services) is that anyone can sit at home and choose any store to shop at, regardless of cost, distance, or branding. The consumer doesn't need to drive the streets, park in the lot, or show their face in the store, yet benefits from the enormous selection of items in every menu. These services obscure any externalities associated with all these stores, while making discovery easier than ever -- how else would you routinely peer into a store's inventory without being there? They used to spam people with weekly ads and coupons, but that's largely obsolete at this point. Not all shoppers are cost-sensitive enough to switch stores, but Instacart enables picking and choosing. Conversely, it expands every store's reach, and enables brand loyalty as well--even if I move further away from my favorite store, or the nearest one closes, Instacart may still enable access to it.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago

Instacart has its own set of prices for the stores it pulls from. You're not doing true competitive shopping by using them, you're subject to whatever agreement they have with those chains and possibly individual product brands.

AStonesThrow 2y ago
My point with Instacart (as a primary example of vendor-neutral delivery services) is that anyone can sit at home and choose any store to shop at, regardless of cost, distance, or branding. The consumer doesn't need to drive the streets, park in the lot, or show their face in the store, yet benefits from the enormous selection of items in every menu. These services obscure any externalities associated with all these stores, while making discovery easier than ever -- how else would you routinely peer into a store's inventory without being there? They used to spam people with weekly ads and coupons, but that's largely obsolete at this point. Not all shoppers are cost-sensitive enough to switch stores, but Instacart enables picking and choosing. Conversely, it expands every store's reach, and enables brand loyalty as well--even if I move further away from my favorite store, or the nearest one closes, Instacart may still enable access to it.