Instacart has pushed off plans for a public listing until next year or later as Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive who took the reins three months ago, focuses on strengthening its services for grocery retailers beyond delivery, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The decision marks a shift from earlier this year, when Instacart executives discussed listing the company’s shares in the fourth quarter, The Information previously reported.
The change could give Instacart, whose revenue rose by at least three times to $1.5 billion in 2020, more time to accelerate its growth as it fends off competition from DoorDash and Uber, which are expected to increase their share of the grocery-delivery business, as well as Whole Foods owner Amazon and convenience startup GoPuff. Instacart’s full-year revenue is expected to increase at least 10% compared to last year, to $1.65 billion or higher, said the person with knowledge of the situation. Tech companies typically show a faster rate of growth than that when they go public.