Delivered within 15 minutes!

World of super-fast delivery March 1, 16:45

I've run out of milk, but I don't want to go to the store just for that ...

Sometimes you may feel that way.

In the United States, a service that delivers even a bottle of milk within 15 minutes and free of charge has appeared.

There is also an app that allows you to call the entire supermarket home.

I experienced a new home delivery style that spreads one after another.

(Los Angeles bureau reporter Nana Yamada)

Within 15 minutes of ordering!

In mid-February, I heard that the home delivery service developed by a startup company is gaining popularity, so I interviewed in New York.

The biggest feature is "ultra-fast delivery", which takes less than 15 minutes from ordering to the completion of product delivery.

Seeing is believing, so first download the dedicated app on your smartphone.

Browse various types of products such as water, juice, bread, frozen pizza, meat, fruits, and sweets, and add them to your cart as if you were shopping online.

All you have to do is enter your credit card information and press the order button.

When I started the stopwatch and looked out, I soon saw a bicycle with a person in a dark pink uniform approaching from a distance.

It is a delivery person.

Even in the morning when there were relatively few users, it took 3 minutes and 54 seconds from ordering to receiving the product.

The secret is in the "dark store"

Why can you deliver so fast?

I visited the company to find it.

The person in charge guided me to a delivery base called "Dark Store".

It is an ordinary warehouse where various kinds of food and drinks are lined up on the shelves, but the scale is quite small, about two convenience stores.

The secret of speed was how to collect the products.

When an order is placed, the employee first receives a notification on his smartphone.

The ordered products are automatically arranged and displayed on the smartphone in the order in which they can be collected from the shelves with a single stroke.

Therefore, there is no need to go back and forth in the warehouse.

Push the cart with the paper bag and quickly go around the shelves and scan the products with a special machine.

The wrong product will sound a buzzer and can be confirmed efficiently.

After putting it in a paper bag, it is packed in a special backpack and handed to the waiting delivery person.

Realize free delivery charges by reducing costs

There are 30 such locations in New York alone, and delivery is limited to each within a radius of 1.5 to 2 miles (2.4 to 3.2 kilometers).

It is also a device to deliver quickly because it is limited to the distance that can be moved by bicycle.

This deliveryman also serves as an advertisement by running around the city in a pink uniform.

It means that the delivery fee has been made free by reducing advertising costs.

The company is currently operating in New York and Chicago and is considering expanding into major cities across the United States in the future.

Arena Pedrasa

"Many people are interested in seeing the delivery staff running around the city and trying to see if they can deliver it within 15 minutes. People who find it convenient to use it are their families. It spread by word of mouth, such as recommending it to friends and friends. "

The shop will visit your home!

On the other hand, what is attracting attention in Los Angeles is a service that is a bit different from the traditional style of getting the products you want delivered.

I also use the smartphone app, but not to order products.

Like ride sharing, we call the whole "running unmanned supermarket."

Currently, we have two types of cars, one with food such as drinks and sweets, and the other with daily necessities such as medicines, toilet paper, and detergent.

I also actually tried dispatching with my smartphone.

On the map of the app, you can see where the car is currently running and how many minutes it will arrive.

It takes less than 2 minutes from dispatch to arrival, and the average speed is about 9 minutes.

Non-contact is also important in the corona

Selling this service isn't just about speed.

It is also a big feature that there is no contact with people.

The driver of a car is not a customer service.

Customers can swipe the screen of the app to open and close the door.

All products are equipped with sensors, and you can simply remove the product you want from the shelf and identify the product with a system installed in the car.

When you close the car door with the app, it will recognize that you have finished shopping and will automatically make a payment with your registered credit card.

At this time, 2 dollars (about 230 yen) will be paid as the price of the vehicle dispatch.

The company plans to develop not only food and daily necessities, but also ice cream cars and cafe-like cars that sell donuts and coffee.

They are also considering switching their cars to self-driving cars.

CEO Ali Ahmed

"When it comes to delivering products, it takes time to get the product selected in the app, and you have to leave the delivery to someone. If the store goes in front of the door of your home, it is a normal home delivery service. It saves you more time, and customers can choose their own products. Instead of delivering the products, they deliver the store itself. "

Within an hour with an airplane drone

A new home delivery business with a succession of start-up companies entering the market.

The major companies are not silently watching.

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, has partnered with a company that develops small airplane-type drones.

Within an hour of ordering online, we began rolling out a service that uses drones to deliver healthcare products such as medicines in parts of southern Arkansas.

A parachute is attached to the box containing the product, and it is stored inside the aircraft of a small airplane.

When you reach your destination, your luggage will fall to the ground using a parachute.

Currently, it is limited to locations within a 50-mile radius of a particular store in Arkansas, but small airplane-type drones have already been used for long-distance delivery of medical supplies to remote areas. Therefore, it is expected to be useful for shopping for elderly people living in depopulated areas.

Take a pinch as a chance at Corona

All of the services we interviewed started last year at Corona.

The increase in the number of people who want to avoid places where people gather, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, as an infection control measure has helped to expand the business.

According to an American research company, the domestic market size of home delivery services such as food and household goods was 8.8 billion dollars (about 1 trillion yen) in 2019, but it will more than triple in 2020 when the infection spreads. Rapid growth to 27.8 billion dollars (about 3.1 trillion yen).

The market will continue to expand and is projected to reach $ 68.2 billion in 2025.

Demand for existing online shopping has increased due to the corona sickness, but new services with added value of "ultra-fast" and "non-contact" are beginning to spread, so we are not afraid to change and always incorporate new things. I feel that it is American with an open atmosphere.

An ultra-fast delivery service that can be said to have turned the pinch of corona into an opportunity.

We will continue to see if the corona infection will evolve even after it has subsided.

Los Angeles bureau reporter

Nana Yamada

Joined in 2009

After working at the Nagasaki bureau, economic department, international department, etc., she is currently affiliated from the summer of 2021.