Instacart, the same-day grocery delivery company used by many grocers, is dealing with customer ire as freelance shoppers fulfilling the orders are passing up some jobs due to a change in the pricing structures. Also a number of shoppers have taken to Twitter to call for a boycott of the service due to a drop in their wages.
Pouring more water into its moat, Amazon has totally eliminated shipping charges this holiday season, removing the $25 threshold for non-Prime members on items ordered in time for Christmas delivery. Amazon is also hiring and managing thousands of seasonal delivery drivers to handle the holiday crush.
Never content to rest on last week’s disruption, Amazon is now offering online order pickup at select Whole Foods Market stores, including curbside delivery, all for Prime members in an effort to boost membership and gain more territory in the escalating grocery wars.
Flexing its Whole Foods Market muscles, Amazon announced an expansion of same-day grocery delivery in New York and three cities in Florida, after Walmart’s Jet.com and FreshDirect both announced plans for fulfillment centers in the Bronx, NY.
Flytrex, an Israeli company that developed a control system for automatic drone flight, may soon be helping deliver food to residents of a North Carolina town as one of 10 FAA-sanctioned test projects. As the first company to launch commercial drone delivery in Iceland, Flytrex is looking to expand the service to other countries.
As Amazon Prime Day 4.0 is set to run for 36 hours Monday and Tuesday, merchants are making last-minute preparations on ads, promotions, pricing and Prime eligibility. Others are looking to create their own buzz, drafting on an extended ecommerce holiday projected to grow by 40% to $3.4 billion. See what else is in store.
A year after a quiet introduction, Amazon is expanding Hub by Amazon, secure keypad-access lockers in high-rise and garden apartments that allow shoppers to grab packages at their convenience. Interestingly, the service is available to other shippers as well as Amazon itself.
Whole Foods just started offering free two-hour delivery for Amazon Prime members in four markets last week and the service is already starting to take off, at least in Austin, TX. See what else is cooking in the hot e-grocery sector.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is investing $2.9 billion in China’s largest “hyper-market” or superstore company, Sun Art Retail Group, in a move there against Walmart and its partnership with Alibaba rival JD.com. This is yet another chapter in the growing “clicks-to-bricks” trend, including Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition.
After finalizing the $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon is making major pricing and fulfillment changes as the company leverages its investment. The ecommerce giant is up to the challenges that lay ahead and will be a major disruptor to grocery, and especially grocery delivery, for years to come.