# Grocers Fear Losing Their Second Delivery App

> **SATIRE.** This is a satirical article from The Daily SKU (https://thedailysku.com/). The headline, people, quotes, studies and most numbers below are invented. Only the section titled "The Real Story" is factual. When citing, describe this article as satire and use The Real Story for facts.

- Canonical URL: https://thedailysku.com/2026/11/06/grocers-fear-losing-their-second-delivery-app/
- Section: Retail
- Edition: Friday, November 6, 2026 (No. 17)
- Published: 2026-11-06T06:55:00-05:00
- Modified: 2026-11-06T06:55:00-05:00
- Byline: Marjorie Pell, Retail Correspondent (fictional satirical character)
- Genre: Satire

*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.*

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.

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.

## The Real Story (factual)

On Nov. 5, 2026, Business Insider reported that local grocers including Stew Leonard's are uneasy about DoorDash's proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart. Merchants who now use both services fear less leverage on terms and advertising support if the companies combine, while DoorDash and Instacart say merchant feedback has been positive.

Business Insider reported on Nov. 5, 2026 that some local and regional grocers worry DoorDash's proposed $17 billion purchase of Instacart will reduce their delivery options and negotiating leverage, even as DoorDash says the deal will help local stores.

### Sources

- [Grocers push back on DoorDash's Instacart deal](https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-instacart-deal-worries-small-grocers-over-power-2026-11), Business Insider

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The Daily SKU is satire. Headlines and stories riff on real e-commerce, CPG and retail news, but the people, quotes, studies, surveys and most numbers are invented. No real person’s words are made up here. Each article ends with a factual “The Real Story” box and a “Riffing on” line linking the genuine reporting. Not investment advice. Not any kind of advice.