Snapchat ads, billboards and buses all over Chicago read “Get $25 off your first order!” The word “Getir” is plastered on stickers, walls and even appears on YouTube ads.

Getir, a grocery delivery service, rapidly filled students’ advertisements and pantries around the DePaul campus. It attracts students because of its hefty discounts. But whether these discounts and their customers stick around is a lingering question.

The app was founded by Nazim Salur and launched in Turkey in July 2015, according to Getir. The idea was to provide people with “their everyday needs in around 10 minutes,” Getir’s website says. It adapted to Chicago’s fast-paced nature on Nov. 11, 2021.

The app utilizes restock centers — warehouses that hold massive quantities of products offered on the app — around the city where the delivery employees bike to pick up items for the orders. The bikers then deliver the orders to the customers, which largely consists of DePaul students.

“It’s expensive to hold inventory,” said Jacqueline Kuehl, the head of DePaul’s digital marketing program, about these restock centers.

Kuehl said the company is not able to both sustain the restock centers as well as provide hefty discounts. “[It’s] not profitable, that’s for sure,” Kuehl said.

“You can’t offer all that and be the cheapest on the market,” Kuehl said, predicting the discounts that draw DePaul students to Getir will not last for long.

She said that “they are trying to buy it as a habit,” explaining why the business is pouring money into the discounts early on in its Chicago launch.

DePaul freshman Gaja Majauskaite is a loyal customer to the app. She said she downloaded the app in February and uses it “at least once a week.” However, she noticed her discounts are trickling away.

“The prices feel higher,” Majauskaite said when comparing Getir to other options such as nearby grocery stores or other delivery apps. She said she does not plan to continue to use the app if the discounts continue to shrink.

Compared to Instacart the prices are similar and at times Getir offers the cheapest option. For example, a two liter bottle of Coca-Cola costs $2.99 on Getir but it is $3.09 when ordered from Jewel-Osco on Instacart.

The only downfall for many students buying from these services is the minimum requirement when buying goods. Instacart requires a $10 order cost minimum to place an order whereas Getir requires a $15 order cost minimum.

Kuehl said this depends on “how much people are willing to pay for sustainability.”

All Getir purchases are delivered on bikes as opposed to cars. The deliveries also come in reusable bags instead of plastic or paper bags.

First-year DePaul student Alex Perez said environmental impact isn’t the first thing he thinks about when ordering from these services.

“But I like the reusable bags,” Perez said.

Majauskaite said she considers the environmental impact of places she chooses to buy from when she is ordering.

“At first I thought it was great that they promoted reusable bags,” Majauskaite said. “But then I noticed how many of those bags they give out. Reusable bags  need to be used at least 50 times in order for their environmental benefits to be realized.”

If Getir will be around four years from now with a new cycle of students, Kuehl said that it remains to be seen.

“Business always comes down to the same thing,” Kuehl said. “‘What is your value proposition?’ or the unique draw to a business and ‘What are people willing to pay for it?’”

Although students have already seen the value in the short wait times, what they are willing to pay beyond the discounts is not yet known.