Getir Will Exit Spain, Portugal and Italy Grocery Delivery Markets

Ultrafast grocery company Getir is exiting three European markets as it focuses on profitability.

The Turkish startup announced Thursday (July 27) it plans to withdraw from Italy, Portugal and Spain “in an orderly manner,” according to an announcement provided to PYMNTS.

“At the same time, Getir is finalizing a funding round and will continue to operate in the UK, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey, which generate 96% of the company’s revenues,” the company said.

The statement adds that Getir’s withdrawal from these markets “will allow it to focus its financial resources on existing markets where the opportunities for operational profitability and sustainable growth are stronger.”

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this year, Getir had seemed immune from the obstacles plaguing other players in the ultrafast grocery delivery space. That changed in April, upon reports that the company’s most recent fundraise slashed Getir’s valuation by nearly half, from $12 billion last year down to $6.5 billion.

The company denied those claims in a statement to PYMNTS.

This year has seen a number of other ultrafast firms hampered by inflation and other economic pressures. For example, Australian 10-minute grocery delivery service MilkRun shut down in April after it was unable to raise sufficient capital to keep operating. Elsewhere in Australia DoorDash’s DashMart dark store rapid delivery arm closed in that country after four months.

Also closing its doors was the U.S. ultrafast grocery delivery firm Food Rocket, while on-demand convenience retail delivery service Gopuff slashed around 2% of its workforce.

More recently, PYMNTS reported that DoorDash decided to end its test of 15-minute DashMart delivery in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood earlier this year, bringing an end to an experiment that began in late 2021. DoorDash continues to offer its typical on-demand delivery from the dark store, which takes “typically under 30 minutes,” a company spokesperson said.

In the United States, at least, research by PYMNTS shows that consumers overall tend to be more interested in eCommerce fulfillment channels that balance convenience and value than in paying for high-labor-cost channels such as on-demand delivery.

According to PYMNTS’ study “12 Months of the ConnectedEconomy™: 33,000 Consumers on Digital’s Role in Their Everyday Lives,” 41% of consumers reported purchasing groceries online for curbside pickup in the prior month. By contrast, a much lower 34% ordered groceries online from a delivery aggregator such as Instacart or via grocers’ own same-day delivery channels.