[bruce511]

Curbside pickup, and delivery are quite different economically, but I agree that "enjoy walking the isles" is nonsense.

I'm not sure the economics of delivery (in a general context) work. Sure, there are folk who are time-poor, and cash-rich, and for them it makes sense, but for the rest the price either has to go up to reflect the cost, or the delivery cost has to be subsidised.

Curbside pickup is a happy medium ground. Picking the groceries is cheap, and the expensive part (delivery) is handled by the customer using their time and their car.

[stockboss]

i wouldn't say "enjoy walking the aisles" is complete nonsense. I actually do enjoy walking the aisles myself, but as I get busier in my daily life, I find that to be a huge time sink. despite that, i still do it because I still can't bring myself to trust a gig worker to do the shopping for me. sometimes, even buying something like crackers, you need to at least do a quick cursory check on the packaging to determine if they were crushed.

[Jakob]

Amazon Prime is a good counter-example that delivery does not need to be subsidised as the pro rata delivery cost decreases if

1. more people order, or

2. people order more items

Both, 1 and 2 can be influenced by marketing and delivery can become a revenue instead of a cost center.

Bonus points if that means that you can deliver from a cheap warehouse instead of an expensive supermarket.

[michaelt]

Prime delivery is subsidised by the margin on the goods, how else would 'free delivery' get paid for?

[Jakob]

Delivery cost increases logarithmically (one package more in the same truck) while revenue increases linearly when more people order / people order more. Increase in revenue outpaces delivery cost even for low margin items.

Amazon makes more money with people on Prime, not less.

[hotpotamus]

I enjoy walking the aisles (at HEB no less) to get ideas for what to cook and to pick out my own produce. Pick up is certainly a nice option too.