Instacart and DoorDash wrestle with online grocery’s growing affordability problem

[Viable Food News Desk]

Publisher: Grocery Dive
Published: September 24, 2026
Source: Read at Grocery Dive
Category: Food Access

Instacart and DoorDash said at Groceryshop that affordability is a growing obstacle for online grocery shopping. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said retailers using price parity are seeing online sales grow 10 percentage points faster than retailers that mark up products, and Instacart said 90% of U.S. consumers have access to no-markup retailers on its platform. Instacart promotes memberships that waive delivery fees on grocery orders over $10 and restaurant orders over $25, along with no-rush delivery that offers a $2 discount. DoorDash said 4.5 million shoppers have added their SNAP cards to its platform, 75,000 stores accept SNAP through the service, and 85% of consumers who used the benefit were new to that particular store.

Why this matters: Independent grocers using delivery platforms may need to weigh the sales and customer-retention benefits of online price parity against the costs of fulfillment and reduced markups. Promotions, loyalty integration, and SNAP acceptance can affect how affordable and accessible their online offerings are.

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