Nowadays, if you want to buy Costco products, you don’t have to drive to the store in person. In Taiwan, you can use Uber Eats for delivery. In the United States, there are currently three delivery platforms: Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash, which provide delivery services. But what's the price of convenience? Actual comparison found that the product prices and final delivery costs of the three platforms are significantly different, and some of them are even more than 30% more expensive than shopping directly at Costco.
Foreign media reported that DoorDash and Uber Eats have recently expanded their cooperation with Costco. DoorDash can now provide delivery from Costco stores across the United States, and Uber Eats' service scope has also expanded from the original 17 states to 47 states. Costco has originally partnered with Instacart, which has provided Costco product delivery services since 2017.
In order to compare the actual prices on the three platforms, the testers selected 15 items at a Costco store near Washington, DC, ranging from Cochran kitchen towels and rib-eye steaks to grilled chicken and butter croissants, and then ordered the same items on Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash through the same Costco store on the same day. During the test, I also joined Costco membership, but did not use paid membership plans such as Uber One.
Before taxes, delivery fees, service fees, tips and discounts are included, the total purchase price of 15 items at Costco stores is US$300.83 (approximately NT$9,538); Uber Eats is US$336.75 (approximately NT$10,676), DoorDash is US$337.64 (approximately NT$10,705), and Instacart is as high as US$380.65 (approximately NT$12,069). In other words, for every item in the test, it is more expensive to buy through the delivery app than to buy directly in the store.
If we look at product prices alone, Uber Eats is about 12% more expensive than stores, DoorDash is about 11% more expensive, and Instacart is about 24% more expensive. Among them, Uber Eats and DoorDash prices are relatively close, while Instacart is significantly higher.
After further accounting for sales tax, platform fees, tips and discounts, the price difference is even more obvious. The total cost of shopping at Costco stores was US$318.88 (approximately NT$11,832), Uber Eats was US$373.20 (approximately NT$11,832), DoorDash was US$328.27 (approximately NT$10,408), and Instacart was US$419.36 (approximately NT$13,296).
In this test, DoorDash became the cheapest delivery option, mainly because it currently offers a US$50 discount (approximately NT$1,585) for Costco orders, which lasts until November. Without this discount, the total cost of DoorDash will rise to US$378.27 (approximately NT$11,993), which is nearly US$60 (approximately NT$1,902) more than the retail price.
In comparison, Instacart is still the most expensive option, with the final total price about 32% higher than shopping directly at Costco stores. Therefore, for consumers who are willing to spend money in exchange for convenience, whether food delivery is cost-effective is not only closely related to the product price of the platform itself, but also closely related to whether there are discounts at the moment.
Testers pointed out that for many Costco customers, the value of delivery service is not just about saving time to go to the store. Costco sells large quantities of paper towels, toilet paper and other large-packaged products. If you live in an apartment or need to climb stairs, transportation itself is a big burden. For residents of big cities without cars, Costco stores are often located in suburban areas, making it difficult to bring large quantities of products home by yourself.
In addition, Costco CEO Ron Vachris also said that some customers use delivery services because they only need to buy a few more items. For example, they forgot to buy when they went to Costco last time, or they have used up a certain item at home. For this type of consumer, instead of making a special trip to the store again for a few items, paying a certain premium for delivery may also be a convenient option.
