U.S. fresh food delivery unicorn Instacart Inc. reportedly told investors that the company’s 2022 revenue of $2.5 billion (currently about 17.35 billion yuan) represents a 39 percent year-over-year increase. That’s a positive sign for the company, which is eager to go public this year.
Instacart’s sales numbers are another good indicator that the company has a second curve with advertising, and not just with grocery delivery. The company said transactions grew by less than half of overall sales, which were up 16 percent compared with the same period last year. In the fourth quarter, the company saw particularly strong sales growth of 50 percent. Its total profit rose 80 percent in the quarter.
Instacart also announced the launch of a delivery service for small business customers, which it hopes will enrich its business and break away from its traditional grocery delivery business.
The new service, called Instacart Business, will offer items from retailers such as Staples, Costco and Restaurant Depot with home delivery. This will put Instacart in more direct competition with Amazon and Walmart, both of which have customized versions of their websites for business customers.
Instacart’s current launch of the new service comes as the company seeks to go public this year. after closing its most recent round of funding in March 2021, which valued the company at $39 billion after the deal, Instacart has cut its valuation internally several times, with reports last December that it had dropped to $10 billion.
