Postmates Is Your New Personal Shopper

For consumers, the state of ecommerce is good. You can get just about anything from Amazon shipped to you in two days (with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime). In terms of variety, you can discover and purchase anything from a custom iPad case from Etsy to Chicago pizza from Goldbely and have it delivered to your door. But as online shopping improves, it contrasts with purchasing something across town — which increasingly seems to be a hassle.

The goal of Postmates, an iOS app currently live in three U.S. cities, is to make products across town as accessible as those online. While the app is fresh and new, employing a similar interface as Uber's, the concept behind it is classic: You request items and a courier contracted by Postmates will pick up the goods and bring them to you. You can pay or tip via the app. Read more...