Fast-growing US same-day delivery operator Postmates is taking a leaf out of Amazon’s book with a membership scheme offering free delivery and has started delivering fashion items within hours.
The crowdsourced startup firm, which delivers food and small goods by bike courier in about 40 metropolitan markets, has launched ‘Postmates Plus Unlimited’ which it describes as ‘a free delivery subscription service, available to customers, merchants, and our community of Postmates drivers and riders’. The aim is to increase customer loyalty and repeat orders.
The ‘Unlimited’ scheme offers free delivery and zero service fees on any purchase of more than $30 from more than 3,000 ‘Postmates Plus’ merchant partners. Subscribers “pay exactly what you pay in the store. Restaurant or retail” while their orders are “accepted instantly and delivered faster than ever”.
The ‘Plus Unlimited’ scheme costs $9.99 per month and is so far available through an iOS App for Apple smartphones, with an Android version to follow shortly. However, the company is giving free Plus Unlimited memberships to all merchant partners, their entire staff and senior drivers and riders in the Postmates Fleet.
Postmates, with a delivery fleet of some 25,000 riders and drivers, claims to be making one million deliveries a month now for some 100,000 merchants across the US.
Explaining its decision to launch a scheme that is reminiscent of Amazon Prime, the company said: “At Postmates our vision has always been to become a utility; to create an infrastructure for local commerce. We’ve pioneered the idea of having anything delivered from anywhere to showcase how a city utilizing such an infrastructure could look. We gave our customers access to merchants that were previously inaccessible. We unlocked local inventories and have driven more than $350M (2015 + Q1/16) in sales to local economies.
“Last year we carefully began to transform our premium product. We were able to capitalize on huge efficiency gains, mostly through delivery volume density and as a result a much greater fleet utilization. It really does help that we have a fleet of 25,000 Postmates doing deliveries. We also started forging partnerships with small and large merchants. These partnerships allow us to integrate into a partner’s POS or inventory system and allow them to use our Postmates Order technology.
“The result was Postmates Plus – a network of more than 3,000 local merchants that are now accessible at a heavily reduced delivery fee of $2.99/$3.99. Nine months after launch, Plus accounts for almost 40% of our delivery volume.
“With our Unlimited subscription we’re now taking the next step in becoming a utility. Removing delivery and service fees for purchases creates a level playing field between local delivery and in-store purchases. The future of Plus Unlimited is greater diversity of places, across retail, convenience, beauty and more.”
Meanwhile, Postmates has been signed up by fashion brand American Apparel to deliver their goods within hours. Delivery will be offered from 79 of the clothing brand’s stores nationwide, and spans 31 metropolitan areas. Customers can order over 50 of American Apparel’s core items for men and women, with delivery for just $1.99 for a limited period.
"American Apparel is improving its omni-channel consumer experience via Postmates by becoming their first major fashion retailer to offer 'on-demand basics'," said Thoryn Stephens, American Apparel's Chief Digital Officer. "You'll be able to receive hoodies, t-shirts, socks and more within a sixty minute delivery window — it's great for traveling or last-minute needs. For the second phase we're integrating the experience with RFID for real-time inventory availability."
Under the partnership, American Apparel is providing Postmates with real-time inventory that allows them to display the most up-to-date merchandise offering. The participating American Apparel retail stores will have access to the merchant app, Postmates Order, via an Android tablet, which will display them directly on a terminal in the store. This will allow the American Apparel team to retrieve and package the order while the Postmates driver is on his or her way to pick it up.
American Apparel previously tested with Postmates in major cities such as New York and San Francisco with limited marketing and positive results. American Apparel is the first official and largest in-app apparel partner.
