Etsy to run same-day delivery pilot in New York
Online marketplace Etsy is set to begin a pilot programme testing same-day and next-day deliveries in parts of New York City, using Postmates couriers. US-based high-tech news provider re/code reported on the Etsy/Postmates partnership on Friday (11 September), following an interview with Calia Talmor, Etsy’s senior product manager for shipping and order management.
According to the re/code report, the pilot service will be called “Etsy ASAP” and will debut in Manhattan and part of Brooklyn and Queens “sometime in the fall”.
The Etsy ASAP delivery service will cost $20. Buyers will be able to choose a delivery window for the day they place the order, or the next day. They will also be able to track their purchase while it is in transit.
Etsy may well be testing the delivery service because it can feel Amazon breathing down its neck with the soon-to-launch artisans’ marketplace, Handmade at Amazon. However, offering express deliveries is more of a logistical challenge for Etsy than it is for Amazon. While Amazon can control its supply chain through its fulfilment and distribution centres, Etsy has to rely on its community of online sellers to keep the wheels rolling.
