

Instacart launches Shop With Friends - apoorvamehta
http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/12/new-instacart-feature-lets-friends-and-colleagues-share-a-shopping-cart-exclusive/

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nthitz
I liked the part of the article where they explained this new Shop With
Friends feature... Oh wait.

Edit: they have edited the article and now it explains the feature

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nivals
Read the article twice trying to figure out if I had temporary amnesia...

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octernion
Really fun to watch the carts change in real-time across multiple computers -
how did you guys achieve this? Very cool.

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akane
We use Firebase (<https://www.firebase.com/>) for real-time cart updates. It's
super fast and pretty easy to setup.

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bdittmer
Have you guys looked into using redis pubsub and socket.io?

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yRetsyM
events / ticketing websites need this feature. I'm forever frustrated with
events where allocated seating is the only method of ticket purchase and
you're needing to organise and balance payments.

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jsmcallister
Since it looks like InstaCart people are posting ITT, what are your plans to
spread this business model into other cities. Is it viable in a place like
Atlanta, GA where residential areas are less-concentrated?

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evertonfuller
Best of luck with this, I just don't see how it can scale successfully. And
what did you need those millions in funding for? To pay the delivery wages
which you can never make back?

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mwetzler
congrats Instacart! your team and your product are fantastic.

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mmmmax
That is very kind.

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jsmcallister
Off-topic, but I don't think Whole Foods really qualifies as a "yuppie chain"
anymore. I feel like they've successfully transitioned to a full-blown grocery
store for people who want to live an organic lifestyle, which is no longer a
small-market trend.

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Taylorious
I don't think it has anything to do with size really, it's more about the
variety of people who shop there. I don't shop there often, but the times I
have, I have noticed the people shopping there weren't exactly representative
of the general population.

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6thSigma
Coming to Texas anytime soon?

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reaclmbs
Instacart is a useful case study. Even though I do not like the product, and
have had a few bad experiences, it solves a pain and I'll keep using it.

