Skip to main content

Postmates delivers on-demand items, and gives you a pickup option, too

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sometimes, convenience isn’t getting something delivered – it’s getting something ready for pickup. Postmates understands this notion, and now, the on-demand delivery startup is expanding its offerings by giving customers the option to order certain items for pickup.

Recommended Videos

For all those times when you don’t want to worry about beating the delivery person home or just aren’t entirely sure of when you’ll be able to retrieve that package from your front door, this offers the perfect alternative. Postmates will allow folks to order ahead, and collect their purchases at a predetermined time. The feature, aptly named Pickup, has been tested in San Francisco over the course of the last week, and a Postmates spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the new offering will launch officially sometime “in the next couple of weeks.”

Already, even in these early stages, over 200 sellers are taking part of Pickup, which means that when it does go live, you’ll be able to choose from a wide variety of merchants.

“The idea around pickup is around expanding the retail experience to our merchants,” the Postmates representative noted. “It’s giving those merchants another tool to expand the reach.”

While San Francisco will be the first city in which Pickup is made available, the delivery startup also plans to expand this service to other major metropolises in the United States shortly thereafter. Both Los Angeles and New York are slated to get Pickup in the next couple of months.

This might not be the only change afoot for Postmates. Recode reported on Friday, April 6 that the company is in discussions with competitor DoorDash to merge the two businesses. This would bring together the two largest delivery startups in the U.S., and could help the duo compete against larger companies like GrubHub, or even Uber and Amazon, who have on-demand delivery programs of their own.

Of course, much of this remains conjecture, and Recode further reported that the discussions around the merger have been “on-again off-again” as there remain “several roadblocks,” including determining who would ultimately take the reins at a merged company. Apparently, neither DoorDash’s CEO Tony Xu nor Postmates’ CEO Bastian Lehmann are thrilled by the prospect of playing second fiddle.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Earth Day with Reolink: Protecting nature, one camera at a time
earth day with reolink protecting nature one camera at a time hero crop

This Earth Day, Reolink is celebrating the incredible intersection of technology and conservation. With help from environmentally conscious users and dedicated NGO partners, Reolink is proving that small actions, powered by smart outdoor technology, can lead to a big impact for our planet's wildlife and natural landscapes.
Smarter, Greener Outdoor Monitoring
Reolink's lineup of outdoor cameras, including the Go PT Ultra, Go Ranger PT, and TrackMix LTE, do more than safeguard homes. They empower nature lovers to connect with the wild while treading lightly on the environment.

Each camera is engineered for sustainability and performance. Solar power compatibility keeps them running without contributing to battery waste. Their rugged, waterproof designs ensure they survive the toughest outdoor elements. And with stunning 4K 8MP ultra-clear footage, they capture the beauty of wildlife — from the shimmer of a bird's wings to the subtle prowling of a fox at dusk — without disturbing natural behavior.

Read more
Roku expands smart home lineup with two upcoming security cameras
The Roku Battery Camera on a tree

Roku might be known for its streaming sticks and smart TVs, but the brand also has a strong presence in the smart home market. From video doorbells and smart lights to plugs and motion sensors, Roku’s smart home catalog is surprisingly robust. The catalog is set to expand in the coming months, as Roku has officially revealed two upcoming security cameras -- the Roku Battery Camera and Roku Battery Camera Plus.

The Roku Battery Camera Plus is the most enticing of the two, as it can get up to two years of battery life on a single charge (the Battery Camera gets up to six months). They can also be combined with an optional solar panel to extend their battery life. Beyond that, most specs are shared -- including 1080p resolutions, color night vision, and the option to receive motion alerts when activity is detected around your home.

Read more
Aqara releases new Matter hub, security system, and climate sensor
The Aqara Matter Hub

Aqara has been busy as of late. The company announced Matter support for 50 new device types earlier this month, and now it’s launching three new products -- the Aqara M100 Hub, Climate Sensor W100, and Camera Protect Kit Y100. All three are now available for purchase.

If you’re interested in syncing all your smart devices together, the Aqara Smart Hub M100 is bound to be the most exciting of the bunch. The next-gen smart hub is designed for seamless Matter compatibility, allowing you to set up complex automations between Aqara products and Matter-enabled products from other platforms.

Read more