Springwise and its network of 8,000 spotters scan the globe for smart new business ideas, delivering instant inspiration to entrepreneurial minds from San Francisco to Singapore. Visit our homepage to view our latest spottings!

Never miss a
business idea again:
sign up for our
weekly newsletter.

Kozmo! Urbanfetch! Food.com! Ordering a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a video from your East Village studio in your underwear. Ah, those were the days! But as predicted (SECOND .COMING), beautiful flowers now grow on the graves of many a failed dotcom. In Istanbul, After 9 started delivering stuff to demanding Istanbulites in need of urban necessities like condoms, beverages, cigarettes, diapers and sandwiches. Orders are placed online or over the phone, and are delivered by motorbike or car in 45 minutes or less. Opening hours are 9pm–6am. For this urban luxury, customers pay a 25-30% premium compared to regular supermarket prices. The minimum order size is USD 7 (EUR 6/GBP 4), but the average order is closer to USD 20 (EUR 17/GBP 11.50).

Additional services since the September 2005 launch include Nite-Porter (a chauffeur service which takes customers wherever they like in their own car) and Pill-Porter, an all-night pharmacy delivery service. Geographical expansion plans include more outlets in Istanbul, including the Asian side, and adding the cities of Izmir and Ankara to the list.

And even in Manhattan, under-an-hour delivery is back. Since spring of last year, MaxDelivery ("order now, have it in minutes") bikers deliver USD 10 (EUR 8.50/GBP 5.75) minimum orders from a Tribeca warehouse to Lower Manhattan. Daring? Yes. Interesting? Definitely.

Opportunities

Now that online culture IS the culture, and INSPERIENCES continue to gain in popularity, this may be the time to dream up your own uber-convenience concept that marries online ordering with offline delivery! After all, convenience and indulgence are the reasons urbanites choose cities over suburbs. Just carefully monitor your cash flow ;-)

More Life Hacks ideas | Email to friend

Previous: Teatr Rozmaitosci «
Next: Being spaces for writers and parents »

What about Zifty.com???

Jen | June 22, 2006 8:50 PM

So, what is the cash flow generator for this idea ? .... Kozmo.com was died

George

George | May 15, 2007 10:14 PM

Hi George,

Thanks for your comment. There are a number of reasons why Kozmo failed: they might have burned too much capital, they didn't have a minimum order, meaning people could order a pack of gum, etc.

The companies featured above *do* have minimum order amounts, and charge a 25-30% premium compared to regular supermarket prices. If logistics are handled efficiently, that sounds like a reasonable margin, right?

Liesbeth den Toom | Springwise | May 16, 2007 2:37 PM

It is indeed an interesting idea, but what if a regular supermarket which already has the facilities, experience, and most importantly the economies of scale, decides to offer this service? Won't this drive you out of business?

Dimi | September 14, 2007 12:05 PM