DISCUSSION
Would grocery delivery be a healthy addition to Apple’s business?
Written by RetailWire Staff
Source: Apple; Photo: Getty Images/Julia_Sudnitskaya
Health conscious customers might soon be able to order a literal apple from Apple.
The tech giant, known for its ubiquitous devices, its physical retail presence and, more recently, its growing array of services may be getting into grocery delivery, according to a report on iDrop News. The news originated with Bloomberg journalist Marc Gurman’s weekly Apple-focused newsletter Power On, where Mr. Gurman said Apple is considering an Instacart-like service built around the nutrition data stored in the Apple Health app. Such a service would be added to Apple’s growing lineup of subscription services, which includes such entertainment focused offerings as Apple Arcade, as well as health-focused ones like Apple Health and Apple Fitness+.
In fact Apple has so many subscription services that, in 2020, it launched the Apple One subscription bundle, which lets customers access multiple subscription services rather than paying for a number of them separately.
Whether there is room for a new major player in the grocery delivery space is an open question, as at least some of the big grocery delivery companies seem to be reaching a point of saturation.
Instacart, for example, has been having difficulty signing on new customers since the end of the grocery delivery boom that came early in the pandemic, according to the New York Times. The company has been diversifying with an advertising platform for grocers and ultra-fast 15-minute delivery facilitated by micro-warehouses.
Other big names in the space are fighting hard to establish themselves as grocery delivery leaders, as PYMNTS reported. DoorDash recently launched a partnership with food distributor SpartanNash to add 100 stores to its app. Uber Eats announced the addition of 173 new locations to its selection of West Coast grocery stores, and restaurant delivery service Grubhub announced a partnership with ultra-fast grocery startup Buyk to offer 15-minute delivery of its products.
Grocery delivery may also be experiencing an overall dropoff, at least in part due to inflation, according to the latest Brick Meets Click “Tracking Online Grocery’s Growth” survey, which found that online grocery shopping was down four percent year-over-year in April.
- Could Grocery and Meal Deliveries Be Apple’s Next Service Offering? – iDrop News
- Apple One makes enjoying Apple subscription services easier than ever – Apple
- Instacart Searches for a Direction as Its Pandemic Boom Fades – The New York Times
- Aggregators Compete for Global on-Demand Grocery Dominance – PYMNTS
- Tracking Online Grocery's Growth – Brick Meets Click