Postmates launches free delivery subscription service
On-demand delivery specialist Postmates has launched its new “Postmates Plus Unlimited” free delivery subscription service. In an announcement posted on its official blog yesterday (31 March), Postmates said: “Unlimited offers free delivery and zero service fees on any purchase from our Postmates Plus merchant partners. With Plus merchant partners, deliveries are accepted instantly and delivered faster than ever.”
The subscription fee for Plus Unlimited is $9.99 a month, and the delivery service applies for both meals from local restaurants and items ordered from Postmates’ retail partners.
The Postmates blog post added: “Removing delivery and service fees for purchases creates a level playing field between local delivery and in-store purchases.
“In addition to having access to all of the best local restaurants in your city, Unlimited provides access to delivery from retail partners like American Apparel, with no fees. The future of Plus Unlimited is greater diversity of places, across retail, convenience, beauty and more.
“One more thing. We decided to give free Plus Unlimited memberships to all merchant partners, their entire staff and senior drivers and riders in the Postmates Fleet.”
Analysts say that the company’s strategy is to encourage customers – especially on the food side – to think: “Now I have taken out a monthly subscription for Plus Unlimited free deliveries, I am only going to order food through Postmates.” This – so the theory goes – will then incentivise more restaurants to sign up as Postmates’ partners. If the plan works, Postmates will build up its business, even though it may lose out on delivery charges in the short term.
