Critiquing the Instacart App

 

        The app that I choose for this discussion is Instacart. Instacart is a grocery delivery service that was founded by Apoorva Mehta and Max Mullen in 2012 (Juggernaut, 2015). I use this app both as a website and a mobile app. This app can also be used to purchase other household goods from convenient stores and pharmacies. These goods and groceries are normally delivered to a home of whoever ordered the goods or someone else’s home for a gift or a favor for a small fee. The delivery driver waits for an order to appear in the app and then goes to the store to pick up that order to be delivered to the buyer. At certain stores, the buyer can order the product and pick it up themselves without even getting out of the car. The app is very easy to use. You first setup an account and add any payment information. After selecting which store to shop at, you begin adding goods to the cart by searching or browsing the inventory for items. The apps simple design provides pictures of each item that is being purchased to insure that the shopper is purchasing the correct items. Once shopping is completed, the user then selects whether there are picking up their order and what time they will do so, or have the order delivered to a location of their desire.

        The app has certain features that enhance the experience. They allow for all payment information to be saved so that the user will only need to input it once. The app also allows the use of EBT transfers for those who use governmental assistance. The app remembers previous orders to show products that were purchased in the past when the are placed on sale. One of the coolest features is the recipe section. You could look up different recipes and the app will find the ingredients needed for that recipe and add those ingredients to your cart from whichever store you are currently shopping. This is a great feature when looking for something different to cook. The app also allows for the shopper to message the person who is picking their items from the stores. This allows the customer to advise the picker of what you shop for if the store is out of the original item the shopper choose.

Even though the app has so many great features, but there are still some things I would like to see added to this app.

·         Allow shopping and delivery of a more variety of products, like recreational goods, car parts and accessories, and office supplies.

·         Allow for a virtual walkthrough of a store so the shopper gets the feel of actually shopping at that store.

·         Allow for an order to be placed and parts of that order be delivered to different locations.

These recommendations are not intended to discredit this app by any means, it is just some cool features that would make my life easier. I will continue to use the app multiple times a week and I continuously recommend this app to my family and friends.

 

References

Juggernaut. (2015, July 6). How instacart works: comprehensive business & revenue model. Medium. https://medium.com/uber-for-x/how-instacart-works-comprehensive-business-revenue-model-94755495e23e

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