Warm-up
- How often do you use delivery apps for food or groceries?
- What makes a delivery arrive on time and in good condition?
- Have you ever switched to a new app? Why?
Vocabulary
- acquisition
- the act of one company buying another company
- brand
- a name or identity that customers recognise
- app
- a software program on a phone or tablet
- contractor
- a worker who is paid but is not an employee
- logistics
- the planning and moving needed to deliver things
- expertise
- special knowledge or skill in a subject
- partnership
- an arrangement where two companies work together
- market share
- the percentage of sales a company has in a market
Reading
Listen to this story
British EnglishDoorDash agreed a $17bn acquisition of Instacart to boost its grocery delivery business. DoorDash said the Instacart brand and app will remain, and Instacart shoppers can keep fulfilling orders. Instacart customers will also gain access to 50,000 additional stores covered by DoorDash.
Instacart, founded in 2012, specialises in grocery and convenience delivery in the US and Canada. Its 600,000 shoppers are independent contractors, and company filings say they completed 338m orders last year. Instacart is valued at $14bn.
DoorDash, launched in San Francisco in 2013, grew from restaurant delivery into pet food and electronics. It operates in 40 countries and handled more than 3bn orders last year using about 9m delivery workers. It is valued at $73bn and has expanded listings with Kroger and added delivery from Costco.
CEO Tony Xu said the deal would combine Instacart’s grocery expertise with DoorDash’s logistics. Market share figures show DoorDash has grown as Instacart has slipped, and some partnerships, such as Walmart delivery, may be affected.
Comprehension
- What is DoorDash buying, and for how much?
- What will happen to the Instacart brand and app?
- How many Instacart shoppers are there, and what kind of workers are they?
- Where does DoorDash operate, and how many orders did it handle last year?
- Which partnership mentioned might be affected by the deal?
Grammar focus
Reported speech
We report what someone said without quotation marks: reporting verb + that-clause. With a past reporting verb (said/showed), move the tense one step back: will→would, can→could, present→past, past→past perfect. (Example 2 constructed.)
- CEO Tony Xu said the deal would combine Instacart’s grocery expertise.
- DoorDash said the Instacart brand and app would remain.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence in reported speech: put the words in brackets one tense back.
- DoorDash said shoppers (can keep) ___ fulfilling orders.
- Company filings said they (completed) ___ 338m orders last year.
- DoorDash said users (will gain) ___ more stores.
- Figures showed DoorDash (has grown) ___ as Instacart slipped.
- Figures showed Instacart (has slipped) ___ in share.
Discussion
- Is it good for customers when big delivery apps combine? Why?
- Which features matter most in a grocery app for you?
- Should delivery gig workers be employees or contractors? Why?
- How might this deal change prices or speed for customers?
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