One reason maybe the key reason—that online retail revenues continue to soar is because consumers are too busy or maybe too tired to get into their cars and go to the store. The number of businesses that offer products or services that can be acquired with a few clicks of a mouse or some fancy finger-work on a mobile phone continues to grow.
Convenience Is King: The Shift in Consumer Behavior
One of the latest entries, just profiled in the New York Times, is a New York City business called Monster Savings headed up by Michael Eberstadt. Knowing that plenty of New Yorkers are reluctant to schlep to Costco, which can be a two-hour round-trip journey, he brings Costco products to customers’ homes, splitting the difference on savings. He is not affiliated with the members-only wholesale club, but according to the article, the big-box store doesn’t seem to mind.
MonsterSavings.com: Bringing Costco to the Doorstep
Such delivery-based ventures are a particularly strong business model for an urban location like New York City, where many residents don’t own cars and have to rely on public transportation or taxis to bring home bulky goods, sometimes to a high-floor walk-up apartment to boot.
But MonsterSavings.com is also one of those delivery-based business models that could start off in one location and head elsewhere.
Urban Delivery Startups Gaining Ground
Consider delivery kingpin Netflix—which is headquartered in California, but probably got some of its best initial buzz in New York City—where busy Manhattanites loved the idea of having their movies delivered right alongside their Chinese food. It’s now a phenomenon that has made the video store on the corner just about obsolete.
Another online delivery idea that started in Manhattan is online grocery-delivery service Fresh Direct, which gradually took root in neighborhood after neighborhood, then suburb after suburb, and now spans the tri-state region covering New York, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut.
One more promising-looking upstart based in New York is HamperVille.com, a subscription-based online service which offers free pickup and delivery for dry cleaning and laundry and touts its services as environmentally friendly. With coverage in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, it was started by a former auditor and a design engineer who didn’t have time to ferry around their laundry and dry cleaning. The service is available until 10 pm, making it particularly friendly to residents of the city that never sleeps.
Grub Hub and the Future of On-Demand Dining
Out of Chicago, there is Grub Hub, an online business that brings together a network of more than 13,000 delivery restaurants and is now in 13 cities with more in the works. It lets users view delivery menus, reviews, and available coupons for their local restaurants, and allows them to order online or by phone for free. It now has its own app, which makes it easy to find delivery when you are on the go for business, and not familiar with the local area. Founded in 2004, the venture-backed company has garnered $34.1 million in funding.
That’s a lot of money, but for those who don’t want to fetch items themselves, services from these delivery-based companies are apparently priceless.
