Fox Business reports that delivery company Instacart will team with convenience store chain 7-Eleven to offer same-day delivery.
According to the announcement, "7-Eleven delivery via Instacart is available today from more than 750 stores across Florida, Texas, Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. From pantry staples like milk, bread and eggs, alcohol, snacks, over-the-counter medicine, energy shots and drinks, and more, customers in Dallas, Miami, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas now have access to thousands of 7-Eleven convenience and grocery items via the Instacart marketplace. The multi-phased launch will expand nationwide in the coming months, bringing same-day delivery from 7-Eleven via Instacart from over 7,000 7-Eleven stores to customers across the U.S."
"7-Eleven got its start 93 years ago because of its forward-thinking innovation that forever changed the way people shop," said Chris Tanco, COO at 7-Eleven, in a prepared statement. "Our success then, and today, is built on continued innovation that ensures we continue offering our customers exceptional products and services when and where they want them. Adding 7-Eleven to Instacart's platform was a logical step – we are able to offer even more customers the 7-Eleven conveniences they know and love."
- KC's View:
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One of the most revealing lines from the press release is how "Instacart partners with more than 400 beloved national, regional and local retailers," cementing the notion that it is explicitly subverting any differentiation strategies and tactics employed by those businesses.
It was just weeks ago that DoorDash announced that, in addition to providing delivery services to c-store clients, it now will also compete with them with its own DashMart retail business. I think it is a fair bet that Instacart has precisely the same endgame in mind - DoorDash just said the quiet part out loud - and so all of these businesses are in essence putting a competitor in business with access to their customer lists and sales data.
Good luck with that.
