Paper for Plastic

By The Editors
June 27, 2013 9:00 am

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in need of food is equally in need of someone to get that food for him.

And for that, there’s Instacart: the iPhone app that delivers fresh food to your door, available now.

Instacart is basically a reborn version of Webvan — it keeps the web, but loses the vans, the warehouses and the charming Rube Goldberg-by-way-of-Geocities website.

Like Webvan, Instacart lets you browse a catalogue of goods.

But unlike Webvan, Instacart’s goods come from the likes of Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Costco and Safeway.

After you place an order, one of Instacart’s pre-screened independent shoppers (think Lyft) picks up the goods and then drops them off at your place.

Simple as that.

If something you order is missing from the shelves, your shopper’ll give you a call and even offer alternatives.

And the tip: take care of that at checkout. No awkward moments here. Just bags on your doorstep.

Delivery costs around $3.99.

No getting off your ass required.

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