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Costco and Instacart are testing one-hour prescription deliveries
People on the west coast who need medication quickly might be able to get their medication delivered in as little as 60 minutes. Costco and Instacart are testing prescription deliveries in Washington and California.
Instacart revises pay policy after accusations of tip stealing
Instacart is learning a hard lesson about the importance of paying workers properly. The grocery delivery service is revising its pay policies for shoppers after complaints that it was counting customer tips toward its minimum pay goals -- as far as workers were concerned, stealing tips. From now on, tips will "always be separate" from Instacart's contribution if it has to compensate a shopper to reach minimum pay. Instacart is also raising the minimum pay for all order batches. Where it used to pay shoppers at least $3, it'll now offer $5 for delivery-only batches (where someone else has already picked the groceries) or $7 to $10 for situations where workers both shop and deliver.
Instacart’s grocery pickup service is live in a handful of cities
Instacart, known for its same-day grocery delivery services, is now giving customers the option of ordering their groceries and picking them up at the store later on. The company has been testing this service over the past few months, and now it's rolling it out to 25 markets across the US. "We want to make grocery shopping effortless by helping our customers get the groceries they need from the retailers they love," Instacart's chief business officer, Nilam Ganenthiran, said in a statement. "Our customers want choice and we're excited to now offer the pickup option they've been asking for."
Sam’s Club expands same-day grocery delivery through Instacart
Sam's Club, Walmart's members-only warehouse stores, will start offering same-day grocery delivery at half of its US locations by the end of October. The service will expand this month to more than 100 Sam's Club locations, serving nearly 1,000 zip codes.
Instacart gets grocery delivery help from Postmates at busy times
What do you do if your internet-based grocery delivery service is straining to keep up with demand at its busiest periods? Why, ask another delivery service for help, of course. Instacart is launching a pilot program in San Francisco that will have Postmates deliver some groceries at peak hours (late morning and early afternoon) to keep up with demand. If you ask Instacart's Michelle McRae, it's a perfect match -- Postmates is normally quieter at those times, so it gets additional business while helping Instacart cope with a heavy workload.
Foursquare puts check-in data to greater use in apps like Snapchat
Foursquare might not be as big as it was in its heyday, but it has a clever strategy for remaining important: it's making itself indispensable to the apps you use every day. On top of its recent Tinder Places deal, it's becoming the main point-of-interest provider for Mapbox, whose location info powers apps like Snapchat, Instacart and Lonely Planet. Even if you've never touched Foursquare or Swarm, you'll likely be using some of their data when you swing by a restaurant or hotel.
Walmart offers same-day delivery from Sam's Club through Instacart
To combat Amazon's two-hour PrimeNow Whole Foods deliveries, Walmart is adding a similar feature for its members-only warehouse chain, Sam's Club. Through a partnership with Instacart, customers can order food and other goods from the bulk outlet and get them delivered on the same day.
GM expands car rental service for gig economy workers
With Uber's money-losing car lease program apparently ending, GM is rushing in to fill the void with Maven Gig. The automaker announced that it's expanding from its current San Diego and San Francisco locations to other cities across the US. Starting today, you'll be able to rent vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV and Cruze in Los Angeles, and by fall of 2017, grab one in Boston, Phoenix and Washington, DC. Baltimore and Detroit will follow soon after.
Target takes on Amazon with same-day grocery delivery of its own
Amazon may already offer grocery delivery, but Target is looking to take on the online retailer when it comes to same-day drop-offs. To power its grocery delivery effort, Target is teaming up with San Francisco-based startup Instacart, a company what already works with Costco, Whole Foods and others. Unlike AmazonFresh that requires a $299 annual fee, Instacart's pricing starts at $4 per order and varies depending on size. Google's food delivery service, Google Express, is also set to begin testing a grocery option in two US cities this year, so the options for shopping from the couch could continue to grow. Right now, the service will only be available in Target's home city of Minneapolis and there's no word on when, or if, it'll expand to other areas. [Image credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images]
