Future Food Delivery as Simple as a Text Message?
Products and services are becoming increasingly easy to access. Whether it’s the latest on-trend clothing or a flight to Boston, new startups are cutting out the middle men and using social platforms to connect with consumers in quick and easy steps. The latest company to offer such simplicity is Dashio, a new food delivery service that asks users to simply text a mobile number the word ‘Hello’ and their order.
Dashio is available from 10am to 10pm, seven days a week, and once the initial set up has taken place (the aforementioned ‘Hello’ text), users can request literally anything within the culinary world, be it a hamburger or a bottle of wine. There’s no app involved, which further eliminates effort and it’s not too expensive either as delivery is typically a flat fee of $4.99 and a small service fee.
Dashio is extending its offering to clothing, concert tickets, restaurant reservations, Apple electronics and personal items, as long as they’re available from local, featured retailers. At present the service is available within the U.S., in the Los Angeles, Bay Area and Silicon Valley areas, yet has plans to go global.
This on-demand trend is blowing up and signals a shift in the retail industry where steps are eliminated between getting product to consumer. Competition comes from the likes of Stefans Head, who texts his clients his latest limited edition clothing designs. There’sMagic who will pull out all the stops to get you what you need – be it a delivery of 12 roses to your girlfriend or toilet paper. And how’s about Fooji, who operate via emojis – you send them a food emoji of what you want and they’ll deliver it.
This interesting theme is all about immediacy. It uses social spaces and casual messaging platforms to get people what they want while saving time, effort and stress. The traditional ways of getting what you want seem so long-winded and old fashioned in comparison – traveling to a store, browsing, queuing at checkout, paying with a credit card. This could well be a sign of how people will consume in the future.
These kinds of services seem the obvious option for everyday items, especially for those who are time-poor and lead increasingly hectic lives. However big brands, especially within the luxury industry need not worry yet as plentiful research confirms that consumers still value in-store experiences. Texting an anonymous mobile number for a wedding ring for example is never going to catch on. Or could it?
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