Thoughts on instant grocery apps

My life isn't cool enough for most apps. I'm never wandering through a new city, waiting to be bombarded with special offers. I don't need to meet hot singles in my area. And I can't remember the last time I went to a secret last-minute gig.

But I do like eating cheap food!

London seems flooded with Instant Grocery apps right now. A dozen different start-ups which will get you a pint of milk within half-an-hour.

The other day, Getir sent me a push notification giving me £10 off a £15 spend.

That's... generous! Look, obviously they're trying to buy my loyalty and change my behaviour. But I was happy to burn some venture capitalists' cash and so picked up a cheap bunch of groceries.

But how sustainable is that?

I've been doing most of my grocery shopping online for 20 years. Every week or so, I click around a supermarket website and get a delivery a few days later. Nice! I've been doing it so long that it is rare for me to run out of a specific ingredient. Sure, sometimes the milk goes off a little early - but I'm lucky enough to have a couple of corner shops nearby.

So I only use the instant apps when they offer me a ridiculously good deal. OK, they have a higher mark-up than the supermarkets - so I wait for someone else to subsidise me.

I've no idea how sustainable this is. But I am happy to eat Venture Capital funded food any time.

Also useful if you're on a limited budget. Even with the inflated markup, delivery cost, and optional tip - these are some excellent discounts from Getir. pic.twitter.com/n8G1iO7wLi

— Terence Eden is on Mastodon (@edent) December 8, 2021

The other day I got £15 off a £16 order. After delivery and a tip, I got a bunch of pizzas, salad, and sundries for £4. That's not sustainable.

My life isn't your life

Of course, for a lot of people, these apps must be a life-saver. Urgent need for nappies? Click! Potatoes all gone mouldy and you've got nothing else to eat? Click! Realise you have no way to unblock an suddenly overflowing drain? Click! Sick with COVID and need some medicinal ice-cream? CLICK!

And that's great.

Things I worry about

In no particular order:

• How well paid are the delivery drivers? We have reasonably strict minimum wage laws, and optional in-app tipping which should offer some protection.
• Data privacy. What will these companies do with the data? They know that I order an "emergency" bottle of vodka every Tuesday lunchtime.
• Targetted marketing can be creepy. If I order prophylactics and wine on a Friday night, can they upsell me on Saturday mornings with aspirin and the morning-after pill?
• Is having a a bunch of poorly-trained drivers scooting around the streets on tight timescales a public menace?
• If local corner-shops are driven out of business, what does that mean for people without the ability to use an app?
• Will people get "addicted" to instant delivery? What happens when people don't do long term planing any more?
• Can multiple services be sustainable? There are multiple supermarkets I can buy from - but will this tend to monopoly?
• On that note, why haven't the major supermarkets got onto this? They have warehouses, shops, and logistics - surely they'd be all over this?

I'm cautiously optimistic that these services will enhance city living. I don't know how sustainable they are - but I intend to abuse their generosity for as long as it lasts.