Home delivery of groceries in the US is very disappointing

I spent a few hours checking out Instacart, Uber Eats, Aldi, Fry's Food Markets, Doordash here in the Phoenix Metro area!

Compared to how easy it is to get almost anything (including fresh) delivered to your home in China, this is a total failure in the US! The US is far behind!

There at least two issues that make it quite inconvenient to place orders for groceries to be home delivered:

1. Separation of groceries and alcohol (a typical US problem)
2. Separation of grocery stores. Do I as the customer care which store delivers the item that I ordered? At least one of the above mentioned services than has customer stuck with that same store for any following order for other items. This needs fixing! My suggestion have stores deliver ordered goods to a distribution warehouse and then to customer. 

For now, I have settled on Amazon for home delivery of groceries. The ordering process was much more intuitive than those of the competitors. Unfortunately, Amazon only offers Bashas and Whole Foods. Amazon also tries to sneak in their Amazon Prime offerings. What I did not like was the goods were delivered to our entrance door without being boxed nor bagged.

The search function on many of these websites are a disaster! Here is a very typical example, I looked for "box red wine 5 liters". What did Doordash show me: White wines, 3 liter boxes, other bottled wines and so on.

German owned grocery store chain Aldi home delivery charges for bags in Arizona

This reminds me very much of good old Germany where such stupid rules (a fee for shopping bags) have been implemented at least since 2016 if not earlier!

"Q: How much does ALDI grocery delivery service cost?

A:  Delivery fees are determined by a variety of factors, such as delivery window and location. 
ALDI shopping bags will be used to bag customer delivery orders. Similar to an in-store transaction, customers will be charged a small fee for bags used. A service fee may also be included to cover operating costs for the service."

P.S. Plus the Aldi website product search function really sucks. Lot's of wrong articles to straight forward searches! 

Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service is taking off in nearly 500 US cities

Good news! When can I have a fresh fried chicken or fresh baked pizza from Costco fly directly to my mouth? 😊

"Amazon announced Wednesday a major expansion of Amazon Prime Air, its drone delivery service, with plans to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026. This marks a significant milestone as it expands the service’s footprint by roughly 6x its current reach. 

Prime Air will soon launch in 11 locations: Tolleson, Arizona; Ruskin, Florida; Kansas City, Kansas; Papillion, Nebraska; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Hazel Park and Pontiac, Michigan; and Richmond, San Antonio, Richardson, and Waco, Texas.

The return to Tolleson is particularly notable given a drone accident that occurred there last year. ..."

Amazon’s Prime Air is taking off in nearly 500 US cities | TechCrunch

DoorDash is building its own drone delivery business

Good news! Competition is good, more competition is better! The US needs to catch up with China regarding home delivery!

When can I get my first fresh fried chicken flying directly to my mouth?

"DoorDash is building a drone delivery business, including its own aircraft, as part of an effort developed by its robotics and autonomy team, which will eventually operate within the company’s delivery app.

The company unveiled the new business, called DoorDash Air, after receiving a Part 135 air carrier certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The certification allows the company to legally operate a commercial drone delivery service in the United States. ..."

DoorDash is building its own drone delivery business | TechCrunch

Uber's $14.8B Delivery Hero deal would nearly double its global footprint

Just wildly speculating: Does it e.g. mean that someone will not have to hail an Uber anymore to drive to the someone's favorite restaurant to have a meal? 😊

"After weeks of speculation, Uber officially agreed to acquire Delivery Hero, a purchase that will take the ride-hailing and delivery giant’s status to new heights, and to nearly 100 markets across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. ..."

Uber's $14.8B Delivery Hero deal would nearly double its global footprint | TechCrunch

&

Fast home deliveries of consumer goods worsen conditions for e-commerce warehouse workers. Really!

When an elite university like Cornell U is concerned with work conditions! What a joke!

One more good reason to deploy more robots!

"... Consumers’ around-the-clock, often impulsive demand for cheap, rapidly delivered products creates harsher working conditions in e-commerce fulfillment centers than in traditional warehouses, according to Cornell-led research that provides the first comprehensive assessment of e-commerce work in the U.S. ..."

Fast deliveries worsen conditions for e-commerce warehouse workers | Cornell Chronicle

Amazon launches 30-minute delivery across the US

Good news! But Amazon is only catching up with the already very fast delivery widely available in China for almost everything. I recently blogged here and here about it.

"Amazon deliveries keep getting faster. On Tuesday, the online retailer announced the launch of its 30-minute delivery option, dubbed “Amazon Now,” in dozens of U.S. cities.

This ultra-fast delivery option will allow customers to shop across “thousands” of items, Amazon says, including fresh groceries, household essentials, and other locally relevant items. ..."

Amazon launches 30-minute delivery across the US | TechCrunch

FedEx Enters Same-Day Delivery War

Amazing stuff! It is getting crowded! 😊 How many delivery trucks will show up daily in your neighborhood?

Competition is good, more competition is better!

"FedEx Enters Same-Day Delivery War

FedEx is jumping into the same-day delivery war, launching a service to rival Amazon and Walmart as major retailers battle over who can get packages to doorsteps fastest.

The new FedEx SameDay Local, built with last-mile partner OneRail, will offer shoppers two-hour or end-of-day delivery options directly at checkout. OneRail’s platform covers nearly 99% of the country and plugs into retailers’ existing store networks without requiring new infrastructure.

The move comes a week after Amazon rolled out one-hour and three-hour shipping windows in hundreds of U.S. cities, while Walmart already offers three-hour delivery reaching 95% of U.S. households.

FedEx says it’s betting on demand: 80% of customers surveyed want same-day shipping, and nearly half say they’re more likely to complete a purchase if it’s included."

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 - Join The Flyover

Amazon is bringing fast delivery to rural America, but 48-hour shipping is no easy feat

Good news!

"Amazon is building delivery hubs across sparsely populated parts of the U.S. to cut shipping times to about two days, a big improvement for rural customers used to waiting up to a week. The push also helps the company rely less on the U.S. Postal Service after tensions over contract terms."

Wall Street Journal What's news

Amazon adds 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options in 2000 US cities

Good news! How many drones will it take? Busy skies ahead! 😊

"The e-commerce giant is making more than 90,000 items available via this new delivery system. If an item can be delivered to a user within one or three hours, they'll see a label saying so next to that item on the Amazon app."

Techcrunch

Zipline received $600 million new funding and is expanding to the United States

Good news! Out of Africa to the US!

"Zipline, the autonomous drone-delivery and logistics startup, has been around for more than a decade, starting in Rwanda delivering blood. Its progress has been slow and steady, notching wins in other African countries and expanding to the United States. That trajectory sped up after it launched a new drone platform in 2025 called P2 that focuses on home delivery of food and other goods. 

Now, fueled with $600 million in new funding, its expansion ambitions have grown. The company, which is now valued at $7.6 billion, is bringing its service to Houston and Phoenix and plans to expand to at least four more U.S. states in 2026."

RIP, Tesla Autopilot, and the NTSB investigates Waymo

Why the government of India Pulled the Plug on 10-Minute home Deliveries with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Incredible, 10 minute home delivery?

About online shopping and home delivery in China

I just learnt second hand about the advances of it and it was stunning!

It appears to be far more advanced than in the e.g. US.

There perhaps more than 100 online shopping platforms competing with each other. The competition is cutthroat. Home delivery is very fast almost like within hours.

You can buy almost anything online and have it delivered either to your home or a facility for pickup near your home.

Even very low priced items or low priced food items can easily be delivered including regional food specialties from across China.

The items for sale also include perishable goods. Buyers report that perishable food items were home delivered with extra ice and buyers have reported that the ice was not even melted by the time it arrived.

The abundance and variety of items you can purchase online is stunning.

When a customer can not quickly resolve a dispute with a seller on these online shopping platforms, a platform agent will immediately appear on screen and intervene to resolve the issue by giving the buyer a number of very favorable options for the consumer and the seller will have to accept the buyers choice. Just one example, if the seller does not refund shipping costs for a return, the platform agent may decide to overrule the sellers exclusion.

The goal seems to be to achieve the highest possible buyer/consumer satisfaction possible albeit sometimes these online shopping platforms benefit the consumer too much at the expense of the seller.

What are the profit margins? Is it the high volume of online purchases given the extremely low prices and the intense, cutthroat competition? 

Female DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying customers’ food to make them sick

Bad news! Sickening! Notice again a doorbell camera exposed the criminal!

Welcome to the age of gender equality!

When home delivery of almost everything has become big business, criminals too see opportunities!

"A woman is facing felony charges in Evansville, Indiana over a DoorDash delivery in which she allegedly sprayed the food with a substance that made the customers vomit.

In a press release, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said that it was contacted on December 7 by a man who said that he and his wife vomited and experienced a burning sensation in their mouth, nose, throat, and stomachs after eating fast food ordered through DoorDash. 

The man told NBC News that he noticed something red had been sprayed on the delivery bag, so he checked footage from their doorbell camera. According to the sheriff’s department, the footage shows that after dropping off the food and taking a photo, the woman appeared to spray a substance towards the food from a small aerosol can attached to her keychain. ..."

DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying customers’ food | TechCrunch

New federal rules expected to permit “beyond visual line of sight” flights by drones (plus flying cars and supersonics?)

Good news!

"With new federal rules expected to permit “beyond visual line of sight” flights, a growing list of US companies, including Walmart, Uber, DoorDash, and Amazon, are launching or significantly expanding their drone delivery programs."

"... a June executive order signed by President Donald Trump was a catalytic moment for the indust. ..."

"

• Drone delivery is gaining momentum with pilot programs from Chipotle, GoTo Foods, and beyond.
• Regulatory changes, including a June executive order, have given the sector a significant boost.
• Safety, reliability, and noise concerns remain as drone delivery expands in suburban areas.

..."

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup - by Malcolm Cochran

Drone Delivery Is Finally Having Its Moment

Drone Delivery Set to Transform Retail After Regulatory Changes

President Trump Signs Executive Orders on Drones, Flying Cars, and Supersonics

Unleashing American Drone Dominance (Executive Order)

Amazon rolls out same-day delivery of perishable groceries in 1,000 US cities

Amazing stuff! Soon, you never have to leave your home again! 😊

"Amazon is now letting shoppers in 1,000 cities across the U.S. order perishable food items through its Same-Day Delivery service, as the e-commerce giant seeks to compete more directly with Instacart and Walmart+ in the growing quick-commerce space. 

Amazon plans to expand the option to over 2,300 cities by the end of the year.

Users can now order fresh grocery items, including produce, dairy, meat, seafood, baked goods, and more, alongside everyday household products, electronics, and other items available for Same-Day Delivery. ...

Amazon says its “specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network” will ensure that shoppers receive perishable groceries intact, and that orders undergo a six-point quality check upon arrival and before leaving for delivery. Additionally, temperature-sensitive products are delivered in insulated bags. ...

Same-day delivery is free for orders worth more than $25 for Prime members. If an order doesn’t meet the minimum amount, subscribers can still choose same-day delivery for a $2.99 fee.

For customers without a Prime membership, the service is available with a $12.99 fee, regardless of the order size. ..."

Amazon rolls out same-day delivery of perishable groceries in 1,000 US cities | TechCrunch

Walmart Plans to Expand Drone Deliveries to Three More States to a total of five states from 100 stores

Good news! Soon curbside pickup only for heavy items?

"On Thursday, the big-box retailer said it plans to launch the speedier delivery option at 100 stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa within the coming year. With the expansion, Walmart’s drone deliveries will be available in a total of five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. ..."

"

Key Points

• Walmart said it will expand drone deliveries to customers from 100 stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa within the coming year.
• Customers can already get items by drone delivery in parts of Northwest Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth.
• Walmart and Amazon’s expansion of drones has been slow-going, with ambitious goals but just a modest delivery footprint so far.

..."

"

Key Insights

• With the expansion of ultra-fast drone delivery to Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa, Walmart is the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states.
• With over 150,000 successful drone deliveries since 2021, this expansion underscores Walmart’s commitment to reshaping the future of fast and flexible retail.

... "

Walmart Plans to Expand Drone Deliveries to Three More States - Human Progress

Walmart plans to expand drone deliveries to three more states

Walmart: Be on the lookout for drone delivery near you (not available in my area; I am running out of patience (just kidding))

Walmart Takes Flight With Drone Delivery Expansion to Five New Cities, Redefining Fast, Flexible Retail (original press release)

Zepto Raid: Where Your “Fresh” Groceries Really Come From with Palki Sharma

Home delivery of food seems to be big business in India. However, the sanitary conditions of the food storage and preparation may make you vomit. There seems to be a serious lack of food safety enforcement in India.

Unacceptable shortcomings in UPS delivery tracking information

Just purchased a new laptop computer. According to UPS it was shipped from China.

On the day of delivery, I did not receive any new updates of the delivery other than it is out for delivery as of this morning 9 AM and it will be delivered between 11:30 AM and 3:30 PM.

This is not good enough in this day and age! It is now 11:15 and I still have not received a more precise delivery time update.

Very disappointing!

P.S. However, UPS actually delivered at around 11:30 AM. Thus at the earliest estimated time, which is good.

Screenshot taken after refresh at about 11:15 AM on 3/10/2025

Uber Eats sues DoorDash in California, alleging anti-competitive tactics

Let the fight over food (delivery) begin! 😋 Who will swallow who? 😊 Spice it up!

Hopefully, at the end, the consumer will win!

Uber sues DoorDash, alleging anti-competitive tactics | TechCrunch "Ride-share giant Uber filed a lawsuit Friday against DoorDash, accusing the delivery outfit of stifling competition by intimidating restaurant owners into exclusive deals."