Instacart’s New Feature Eliminates Human Contact From Grocery Delivery

March 06, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

Plus, your honey might not actually be honey, and more news to start your day

If you’re under coronavirus quarantine, you can still get your groceries

As the coronavirus outbreak continues, some predict that it will mean an increase in the need for food delivery services, whether it’s for take-out meals or groceries. Sure, people are being told to stock up on just a few basics, but have you seen Costco right now? Madness! So to ensure people can get their groceries without having to risk human contact, Instacart has rolled out a new “Leave at My Door Delivery” feature, which allows customers to have their groceries left outside their door at a designated time.

Instacart

In a statement, Instacart said they had been beta testing the feature, which was initially designed for people who wanted to receive a delivery while they weren’t at home. But “based on the increased demand for this new product feature, today we’ve made it available to all Instacart customers — bringing even more flexibility and optionality to their grocery delivery experience.” “Contactless” delivery is something that’s been adopted in China, and could become more common in other places with outbreaks. As an alternative in the meantime, you can always just accept your delivery in person and wash your hands.

And in other news...

• Over 100 years ago, Dr. Harvey Wiley discovered a good amount of the honey sold in Indiana was diluted or outright fake. The more things change! Honey is still being adulterated, and it might be hurting bee populations. [Vice]
• You don’t have to stock up on water in your coronavirus panic shopping. [Slate]
• Starbucks says China’s coronavirus outbreak caused same-store sales to dip 78%. [Restaurant Business]
• On the flip side, Costco’s business is booming. [CNN]
• The Australian fires have severely hurt the country’s wine industry. [NYT]
• A man who was filmed licking a pint of ice cream and returning it to the shelf was sentenced to 30 days in prison. [NYPost]
• Chipotle is expanding its parental leave benefits, and is also considering unlimited paid time off, but only for its senior level employees. [NRN]
• Coca-Cola and Pepsi are among the companies being sued for producing single-use plastics, which the suit argues is a “design defect” these companies are directly responsible for. [Fast Company]
• You don’t want to watch this video of someone cracking raw eggs into a bong and then smoking out of it, we’ve warned you, you can’t blame us. [Vice]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]