Newport Board Group partner and retail industry expert Helen Bulwik was recently quoted in the San Francisco Bay Area media about a recent development in the mobility-powered disruption of traditional industries that is happening across the economy.
As explained in a piece in SF Gate, a San Francisco-based company, Instacart, aims to connect customers to a personal shopper using a mobile app. They have already launched the product, which is getting attention in areas like Seattle, Boston, Washington, Austin, Atlanta, Chicago and New York.
Customers can download the Instacart app and choose their preferred grocery store. After that, Instacart will deploy a personal shopper to shop and deliver the goods.
Helen commented to SF Gate that, in her view, the demand for Instacart is likely to increase. Cities are getting denser every year, and in 20 years almost 80 percent of the U.S. population will reside in urban areas. This means the timing for Instacart funding could be perfect.
Bulwik admitted she is a fan of the app. "When I just don't have time to get to the store, it's a great alternative to be able, from my phone, to order my groceries," Bulwik said.
She went on to explain: "The inventory resides inside the retailer. The retailer's not incurring any additional costs. For the consumer, it's just a benefit based on their own time constraints."
See more information about Helen’s background and her work advising growth companies in the retail sector.
About the Author
Helen’s career has focused on developing and executing strategies for business development and growth for leading retail and consumer companies. Helen has served as CEO or Executive Chairman for six middle market retailers and consumer companies. She has also been a strategist with three well known consultancies, IBM, Accenture and the Tom Peters Group. In those advisory roles she counseled senior management of more than 70 of the top 100 Global retailers and consumer companies. Contact or learn more about Helen here.
Connect with Helen on LinkedIn
