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Can Grocery Delivery Stop Impulse Buys, Like That Pint Of Ice Cream Or Candy Bar?

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An online company that delivers groceries is making its way into the central Arkansas market tomorrow, hoping to appeal to customers by changing the way they view shopping. 

The San Francisco-based company Instacart, already in 33 states and the nation’s capital, is expanding into markets across the country at a rapid pace.

The company promises to deliver groceries from your local store in two hours, or at a designated time selected by the customer. The service will offer groceries from Whole Foods Market, Natural Grocers, Petco, CVS and Kroger.

And it promises local grocers a partnership that can help them compete at a time when online grocery shopping could be growing. (While there is a potential for growth, the results of a recent Gallup poll show the trend of increasing online shopping has not yet hit the retail grocery industry.)

The company is trying to get away from an image that its service is a luxury, catering primarily to high-income customers. Operations manager Jessica Murdock says she thinks the service could be a solution for those on a budget, because it could mean people are less likely to succumb to in-store impulse buys.

"So actually it allows a lot of our customers to stick to a more regimented diet or budget," says Murdock.

The cost of a typical delivery is $5.99 if a customer spends more than $35.

Instacart says it will hire 100 workers in Arkansas and that the delivery area covers 224,000 households.

Hoping to draw in Arkansans, the company is offering a coupon code for $20 off an order over $35 and free delivery on the first order: HILITTLEROCK

Karen Tricot Steward was a News Anchor, Reporter and Content Development Director for UA Little Rock Public Radio.
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