EBay Inc. yesterday introduced eBay Now, a mobile shopping app that lets consumers in San Francisco order online and have their purchases delivered the same day. Orders can be placed with any e-retailer with a store in San Francisco that is also part of the Milo platform. Milo, which eBay owns, is a service that lets consumers search for products available from local bricks-and-mortar retailers.
“The eBay Now mobile app lets shoppers order a product from a local store and experience the convenience of same-day delivery, from phone to door in as little as an hour,” an eBay spokeswoman says. Same-day delivery is available only on orders of $25 or more and the delivery fee is $5. Macy’s, Toys ‘R’ Us, Target and Best Buy are among the retailers participating in the program. Macy’s Inc. is No. 14 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. No. 29, Target Corp. No. 23 and Best Buy Co. No. 11.
Consumers place orders via the eBay Now mobile app, which is currently available by invitation-only and only on the Apple Inc. iOS platform. They can pay with eBay’s PayPal service or with a credit card, and couriers deliver orders. The service is available for orders placed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, provided the associated retailer is open for at least a half hour after the consumer places the order. The spokeswoman says the service’s goal is for all deliveries to arrive in an hour or less.
There are no immediate plans to roll out eBay Now to other cities. “From our pilot, we’ll gauge user interest, inform product enhancements and evaluate the future of this innovative local shopping experience,” the spokeswoman says.
The eBay Now delivery service further tightens the order-to-delivery window for e-commerce. Amazon.com Inc., No. 1 in the Top 500, offers free two-day shipping on online orders to members of its Amazon Prime program, and further offers same-day delivery in 10 metropolitan markets. “Consumers love fast shipping and its great to see eBay making Amazon-like moves here,” says Scot Wingo, CEO of e-commerce services provider ChannelAdvisor Corp.
Amazon does not currently offer same-day delivery in San Francisco, but will build a 1-milion-square-foot fulfillment center in Patterson, CA, which is just east of the San Francisco Bay area.
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