In what it is calling a “massive U.S. market expansion,” on-delivery firm Postmates has launched in 100 cities across the United States, a move the company has said brings its coverage to one in two households across the nation.
The expansion makes the platform – which spans restaurants and stores – accessible to an incremental 50 million customers. In total, the company operates across more than 385 locations nationwide and also has a presence in Mexico.
The move is among the latest salvos in an on-demand delivery landscape that includes DoorDash and Grubhub, among others. By boosting its presence in such a dramatic fashion, it can be reasonably assumed that Postmates is making its own bid to increase its market share, even in an environment where it has struck deals with the likes of Walmart to nurture efforts in grocery delivery, for example.
At present, said the company, consumers have access to more than 250,000 merchants who previously were inaccessible online. Delivery fees start at $3.99, as has been customary, but are waived when users subscribe to the firm’s service at $9.99 monthly – or $6.99 per month when paid annually.
In tandem with the announcement on Wednesday (July 11), the company said it has expanded its delivery footprint with Chipotle Mexican Grill, adding another 300 locations for that quick service restaurant, with an attendant $3.99 delivery fee. The two firms have had a relationship for a number of years.
In a statement announcing the moves, Dan Mosher, SVP and merchant lead at Postmates, said that “Chipotle is one of the most popular merchants on the Postmates platform. We are thrilled to grow this relationship, drive down the cost to our shared customers and increase our reliability together. We’ve already delivered over one million of their burritos and two million of their burrito bowls to our customers, and we will continue to ensure that their food is delivered just the way our customers want it.”