As of November 7, 2026, the proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart by DoorDash is running into resistance from the merchants it depends on. Business Insider reported on November 5 that several independent grocery chains fear a combined company would leave them with fewer delivery partners to negotiate commission, promotion and data terms with. DoorDash says the deal will help local stores win and that merchant response has been positive. Both statements can be true at once, which is why merchant teams need their own numbers rather than either party's summary of the terms.
What independent grocers are saying
Stew Leonard Jr., chief executive of the eight-store Stew Leonard's chain in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, told Business Insider that he has been able to play DoorDash and Instacart against each other to get better terms. He worries that leverage disappears if the two become one company. "We're not any big customer of theirs," he said. "Will they still be wheelers and dealers and want to grow our business?" He also sees an upside, since a larger delivery network could mean more shoppers available to pick orders and a wider delivery radius for his stores.
The sharper complaint came from smaller operators. Anne Roark, store manager at Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware in Southern California, said she spent days trying to reach Instacart customer service about an $800 invoice whose purpose she still does not know. She worries the deal could raise the commission she pays, and her store already marks up items sold through Instacart to cover that fee. Linda Gommel, the chain's chief executive, told Business Insider the store works hard to serve customers in ways they can afford, which is a polite way of describing a margin problem.
Two complaints, one measurement problem
Commission and promotion terms
The first complaint is about the price of access. Delivery marketplaces charge commissions that vary by category, basket size and promotional participation, and grocers have historically used competition between platforms to push those terms down. If one platform absorbs another, the negotiating set narrows from three meaningful options to two, with Uber Eats as the remaining counterweight. Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said on the company's third-quarter call that retailers had contacted Uber in the week after the deal was announced, and that its grocery business is growing 40% at a $15 billion run rate.
Customer data as leverage
The second complaint is about data rather than price. Retail analyst Kevin Coupe pointed to Instacart's outreach to some Whole Foods customers after the retailer said in 2018 it would cut ties, suggesting they shop at other grocers on the app based on past purchases. "You're afraid to leave them because you're afraid they're going to weaponize your customer data against you," he said. That is a switching cost, not a line item, and it never appears in a commission schedule.
What merchant teams should measure now
Most grocery chains already track sales through delivery apps, but far fewer track the terms and the operational gaps that decide whether those sales are profitable. Four measures cover most of the exposure, and all four can be built from data a chain already owns. None of them depend on what either party says about the deal.
| Measure | Why it matters | Typical blind spot |
|---|---|---|
| Effective commission by category | Shows real cost after promotions | Blended rate hides category gaps |
| App availability by store | Lost sales look like low demand | In-store stock counted as sellable |
| Price gap versus own site | Markup drives comparison shopping | Markup applied inconsistently |
| Promotion participation cost | Funded discounts cut margin | Not reconciled to invoices |
App availability deserves particular attention because the failure is invisible. An item that sits in the store but shows as out of stock in the app produces no order and no complaint, so it reads as weak demand rather than a data failure. Chains that sync inventory in near real time spot the gap within a week, while those that reconcile nightly tend to blame assortment and delist the item. The same logic applies to price, where a category-level markup that varies by store is hard to explain to shoppers and invites comparison with the retailer's own site.
A four-step check before the next renewal
Whether or not the deal closes, contracts will renew and the terms will be set against whatever leverage exists at that moment. A short, repeatable check is more useful than a one-off negotiation memo, because the numbers change every quarter. The point is to walk into the renewal with evidence rather than an anecdote about service quality.
Rebuild the commission baseline by category, net of promotional funding, so the comparison is against real cost rather than the headline rate in the contract. Keep the workbook so the same baseline can be refreshed at the next renewal. Most chains have never separated funded discounts from base commission, which is why the real cost is usually higher than the number on the contract.
Instrument app availability weekly at store level, separating true out-of-stocks from items that are simply not listed in the marketplace. A missing listing and an empty shelf look identical in a sales report but require completely different fixes. Track both, and review the top fifty items by revenue rather than the whole catalog.
Document the data terms in force today, including what the platform may do with purchase history after a contract ends and who owns the customer record. This is the term most likely to matter if the ownership of the platform changes. Ask for the clause in writing rather than relying on account managers.
Price a second and third channel before renewal, using Uber Eats or a regional provider as the outside option, and keep the written quotes on file. A quote is leverage even when it is never signed. Renewals that begin without an alternative tend to end with the terms the platform proposed.
The strategic backdrop makes the timing awkward. DoorDash is hoping for a smooth reception in Washington, but Democrats take control of both the House and Senate next year, and deals that touch grocery prices are likely to draw scrutiny. EMARKETER expects Amazon and Walmart to control more than three-quarters of US grocery ecommerce sales this year, which is the constraint every regional chain is actually negotiating against. A merged delivery platform is a cost problem, while that duopoly is the demand problem, and only one of them can be fixed at the contract table.
FAQ
What is the deal worth?
About $17 billion in equity value, according to Business Insider and other reports, with DoorDash describing the intent as helping local stores compete.
Why do grocers object?
They say fewer competing delivery partners weakens their ability to negotiate commission, promotion and data terms, and some fear higher fees will push retail prices up.
What does DoorDash say?
A spokesperson said merchant response has been overwhelmingly positive and the intent is to reduce costs for grocers.
What should merchant teams do first?
Rebuild category-level commission baselines net of promotional funding, then audit app availability and price gaps store by store.
