Category: groceries

Amazon will stop supporting its Dash Wand shopping device on July 21st

[ad_1] Amazon is dropping support for yet another Alexa device in a matter of weeks. AFTVnews has learned that Amazon will no longer support the Dash Wand shopping helper as of July 21st, 2020. It didn’t explain why (we’ve asked Amazon for comment), but it did encourage owners to participate in a device recycling program. […]

Instacart takes steps to discourage ‘tip baiting’

[ad_1] The actions come just days after a group of US senators asked the FTC to investigate whether Instacart and other delivery services are engaging in “unfair or deceptive” practices through policies that enable tip baiting. It’s not certain this will satisfy politicians, but Instacart is sending a signal that it’s at least aware of […]

Senators ask FTC to investigate Instacart over ‘tip baiting’

[ad_1] Instacart characterized these abuses as rare in a statement to Engadget, saying that tips stay the same or climb higher for “99.5% of orders” and that tip-based earnings have “nearly doubled” since the COVID-19 pandemic started. You can read the full statement below. The company didn’t directly address instances where tip baiting has happened […]

Many Instacart shoppers still don’t have their COVID-19 safety gear

[ad_1] Instacart’s plans to give shoppers masks and sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic are proceeding slower than many employees would like, and that’s partly on purpose. In response to workers’ concerns, the company told Wired in a statement that it had capped orders for the safety gear (which goes through the company store) to “thousands” […]

Online grocery deliveries are facing an unprecedented stress test

[ad_1] One of the biggest problems is that delivery time slots are seemingly impossible to come by. After filling out their carts, customers would attempt to check out, only to find that all of the delivery options are suddenly unavailable. We spoke to a few shoppers, who told us of the various issues they encountered. […]

Instacart workers go on strike after rejecting mild concessions

[ad_1] The service did say it had sourced hand sanitizer that would ship next week, but workers saw this as indicative of Instacart dragging its heels. Shoppers said they had been asking for sanitizer for “many, many weeks,” but the company was only now conceding to this demand. We’ve asked Instacart for comment on the […]

Amazon offers warehouse workers higher pay to handle Prime Now groceries

[ad_1] A spokesperson described the hikes as “temporary opportunities” meant to reflect a “significant increase” in grocery orders. It wasn’t clear when Amazon expected the pay offer to come to an end. It won’t be surprising if this lasts for a while, regardless of how long the coronavirus outbreak continues. Amazon is already dealing with […]

Amazon suspends Prime Pantry to handle its backlog of orders

[ad_1] The Prime Pantry website has a notice that reads “Pantry is temporarily closed. We are busy restocking.” It’s not accepting new orders because of high order volumes. For now, you can’t add items that are listed as “Ships & Sold from Pantry” to your cart. However, Amazon said people who are waiting on recent […]

Instacart employees in Chicago are the first to unionize in the US

[ad_1] In a statement, Instacart said it “will honor” the unionization vote pending certification of the results, and that it intended to negotiate in “good faith” on a collective bargaining agreement. The company added that it “respect[s] our employees’ rights to explore unionization.” That last claim doesn’t appear to be true based on evidence, however. […]

Walmart will test driverless grocery deliveries in Houston

[ad_1] The test run will help Nuro and Walmart “develop and refine” their services, including providing the best “end-to-end” experience for shoppers. Kroger’s earlier use of the vehicles takes scheduled orders through a mobile app, with store staff loading the R1 before it makes its way to a customer’s home. It could be a long, […]