The stat: Investment in rapid grocery has fallen by more than 50% in 2022, per Pitchbook, as high operational costs and fierce competition dim investor enthusiasm.
- Investors shelled out $3.6 billion to quick commerce startups this year—well below the $7.6 billion companies netted last year.
- The number of deals also fell significantly, from 36 last year to 15 so far this year.
Quick commerce companies consolidate: While last year’s gold rush fueled a wave of startups, the number of players is rapidly diminishing as cash reserves run dry. Should Getir acquire Gorillas, that number will shrink further, leaving only two major players—Getir and Gopuff—whose primary business is rapid grocery delivery.
But even that may not be enough to guarantee their survival as established delivery companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Deliveroo take advantage of their existing infrastructure to build out rapid fulfillment capabilities.
- Uber Eats is getting into the rapid grocery game with the UK launch of Uber Eats Market, which is a partnership with frozen grocery chain Iceland that aims to deliver products in as little as 20 minutes, per The Grocer.
- DoorDash continues to invest heavily in its DashMart convenience store offering, which CFO Prabir Adarkar said is “on any given day” one of the top 10 stores on the company’s platform in terms of sales.