Between Amazon Prime, Google Shopping Express and eBay Now, the next-day delivery wars are heating up, leading big box store Wal-Mart to unleash a chorus of “me too’s!” But in order to become a legitimate competitor, Wal-Mart has to devise a creative scheme to make it stand out. That scheme? Just having its customers do the deliveries and calling it “crowd sourcing.” Read More
A billboard in the Union Square station is kind of like the Inception of Internet references, collecting every advertiser’s notion of what is cool/hip on the web and slapping it onto one delightful subway ad. Read More
This week, just when you most wished for the familiar comfort of Seamless order delivered to your door, loss of power and Internet, lack of availability or guilt over subjecting delivery guys to the elements kept you away.
In the midst of the storm, one wit started a Tumblr chronicling the most egregious egregious wait times Read More
Founded a year and a half ago in San Francisco, Cater2Me quickly found its niche feeding the ravenous techies of Silicon Valley, nabbing clients like Dropbox, Square and Klout. “You can call it the Google effect, if you want,” cofounder Alex Lorton told Betabeat, and “that idea is becoming the norm in New York, as well.”
Hence the company’s decision to expand to New York City. The service just launched yesterday, but it sounds like Mr. Lorton is already halfway to going out for the cheerleading team.
“I think it’s cool to be part of the expansion of Silicon Alley, to use the phrase, to be part of that startup community,” he said. “People in startups are, I think, more willing to embrace something that’s new, something that’s initially not as tested.”
Well, hopefully it’s not that untested. Read More
FreshDirect, the online grocery service that offers next-day delivery on your bounty of veggies (and cookies), has become so ubiquitous in New York that some apartment buildings advertise “FreshDirect storage” as a lust-worthy amenity. For the torturously busy (or–okay–the lazy), FreshDirect is a godsend, delivering produce, toiletries–even beer!–with the click of a button.
But in recent months, FreshDirect has seen its own share of scorn over some pretty serious issues. Though slated to relocate its Long Island City warehouse facility to the South Bronx, FreshDirect only began delivering to residents there back in May. And in February, aggrieved South Bronx residents launched a petition protesting the relocation, listing a history of discriminatory and unfair labor practices, as well as the fact that the company does not accept food stamps.
Of course, that the government is providing FreshDirect with $130 million in tax breaks to relocate doesn’t make them look any better. Read More
