Uber’s success in disrupting transportation has led to enormous VC funding of “Uber-for-X” businesses where smartphones are used to connect customers with nearby workers on demand.
A number of start-ups have entered the same-day/same-hour delivery market with the intent of fundamentally transforming how we shop and eat. Rapid on-demand delivery combines the convenience of ordering from anywhere with the immediate product availability of traditional bricks and mortar retail stores.
Convenient and low cost same-day delivery is emerging as the next logical paradigm in retail and will gradually become the expectation for many consumers. The rapid delivery trend, coupled with the global shift to on-demand consumption, has led to a massive funding of delivery start-ups. But, has there been too much money given to these start-ups? Will 2017 witness a flurry of consolidation and acquisitions?
Also, will Amazon or Uber make further strides in this space? Amazon’s biggest threat in the U.S. may be Uber providing a platform for traditional brick and mortar retailers to offer rapid delivery and win back customers who have migrated to Amazon.
How these trends play out over the next few years will be fascinating.