DoorDash strikes $17 billion deal for US rival Instacart in bets on grocery delivery
Lila Johnson is a seasoned business reporter with a background in finance, having graduated from the University of North Dakota. She has previously worked with local business journals and focuses on small business success stories and entrepreneurial initiatives.
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Oct 29 (Reuters) DoorDash said on Thursday it would buy Instacart in a deal valued at about $17 billion, stepping up its push into the fast-growing US grocery delivery market as competition among app-based platforms intensifies. Heightened competition following a slowdown in orders from pandemic-era peaks, along with rising costs and tougher regulatory scrutiny over the treatment of gig workers, has spurred a wave of dealmaking across the industry. Meanwhile, delivery companies chasing growth are expanding into grocery, convenience and other retail categories as their core food-delivery businesses mature. Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online, said Tony Xu, co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, adding Instacart has spent years learning to do that well for grocers. Online grocery delivery has also gained traction as consumers increasingly prize convenience, while a recent surge in gasoline prices linked to disruptions from the war in Iran could give shoppers anot