Grocers Fear Losing Their Second Delivery App

Local chains that rely on both DoorDash and Instacart say a $17 billion combination could leave them with less leverage and fewer places to shop for terms.

By Marjorie Pell, Retail Correspondent YONKERS, N.Y. · Nov 6, 2026 · 1 min read

YONKERS, N.Y.—DoorDash has said its proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart will help local stores win. Several of those stores have begun asking what winning looks like when there is one fewer app to call.

Stew Leonard Jr., chief executive of Stew Leonard's, a grocery chain with eight stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, told Business Insider he currently uses both DoorDash and Instacart and picks between them for better terms. He also said both companies have helped grow his online orders with promotions and advertising.

"We're not any big customer of theirs," Leonard said. "Will they still be wheelers and dealers and want to grow our business?" He added that more delivery workers could help expand each store's radius, a hope filed under both optimism and inventory.

Will they still be wheelers and dealers and want to grow our business?

Illustration of an antique cash register with a long receipt — Illustration: The Daily SKU

A fictional night manager in a New Jersey store (produce, aisle 1) said the second app was less a partner than a spare tire. "You do not praise the spare," she said. "You notice when it is gone."

Uber's chief executive told analysts that retailers have already called seeking more choice since the deal was announced. Choice, in grocery, is often another word for leverage.

In The Ledger's margin this week I wrote "second app" next to an earlier note about candy canes. The candy canes remain. The second app is what people are counting.

Anne Roark, a store manager at Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware in Southern California, told Business Insider she has spent days trying to reach Instacart about an $800 invoice she still does not understand. Commission fear travels the same phone tree. When prices on the delivery app run higher than the aisle to cover fees, shoppers notice, and so do the family-owned stores that cannot outspend Amazon on logistics.

Marjorie Pell has worked or covered American stores for 40 years and still knows where the paper towels are. More from Marjorie Pell ›

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