Instacart Is An Advertiser & Not A Grocer
In early April, Instacart signed a deal with Michael's Arts & Crafts for same-day delivery in the US.
People will think of Instacart as taking over grocery, the same way they initially thought of Amazon taking over books.
Yes, that was their ambition, and they did. However, Instacart is not a grocer. It's an advertising company.
Advertising companies need surface area. Surface area means selection, and selection means wide category expansion!
If Instacart is literally the place you go for anything you need "instantly" it is not only a pretty compelling consumer value proposition, it is a highly sought-after advertising audience to target.