When the curbside pick-up takes less than 10 minutes
Hey Snackers,
Smart watches, smart speakers, smart fridges... In an Internet of Things world, everything gets connected β even diapers.
The Dow dropped for the 3rd straight day, hit by Apple's coronavirus-related revenue warning.
XL-sized cart full of "meh"... Walmart's disappointing earnings. Physical store sales for the world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer rose barely 2% (a slowdown from last year's 4.2% growth). But there's light at the end of the aisle: ecommerce sales popped 37% for the year. The star? Walmart's online grocery biz.
Walmart's overall ecommerce biz is still unprofitable... E-sigh. It's leaning into online grocery β which it thinks has profit puppy potential β while leaning out of its e-acquisitions:
Cash in the (e-grocery) bag... Grocery shopping is a habit. And owning habits means $$$ β Over 1/2 of Walmart's US sales are from food. The US online grocery market is still in toddler stage, but it's predicted to take 20% of all grocery sales by 2025. Since 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart, its curbside/delivery grocery game boasts a critical foundation. That's how it can stay ahead of Amazon, Instacart, and Target.
5 Stars for Convenience... 0 stars for congestion. The Uber and Lyft-led ride industry has made life easier for many: whether it's having a few too many margaritas with dinner, visiting a new city, or needing a ride to the airport. It's also never been harder in one way: traffic. Here's the low-down, based on studies summed up by the WSJ:
Negative effects take a back-seat... When you can get contact solution delivered to your door same-day by Amazon, you're probably not thinking about delivery vehicles congesting streets. Similarly, users of ride-hailing services are likely to think more about convenience than traffic or pollution.
Fibbing about your mission can be a (disturbingly) successful strategy... The reality of ride-hail apps is more driving, more traffic, more pollution, more horn honking, more air fresheners. If we were woke sooner to Uber being part of a problem, not part of a solution, we may be less likely to have started Ubering. But now Lyft/Uber are here to stay, despite years pitching a mission that wasn't accurate.
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Amazon and Uber
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