Smaller, pickup-only grocery stores could offer a few advantages, particularly in metropolitan areas. On the business side, they would reduce two of the biggest cost centers: headcount and footprint. Less expensive sub-street level space could be leveraged for storage, in addition to facilities outside a city. Customers could place orders ahead of ... See more

Such speed and convenience is difficult to achieve when your business model is at the mercy of third party merchants fulfilling your orders. These companies must therefore be vertically integrated with a high degree of control over their Dark Stores and courier networks.

- Largely founder owned via capital efficient growth