POSTMATES

Postmates said Tuesday it is launching a new retail platform ahead of the holidays, allowing customers to get instant delivery from clothing, home, beauty and wellness retailers, and allowing the delivery company to broaden its reach. The new platform will launch in Los Angeles, with the intent of expanding to other cities next year. While Postmates has always had plans to branch out from its core food delivery business, the coronavirus pandemic and upcoming holidays hastened the retail rollout, said Mike Buckley, the new senior vice president of business. Customers in Los Angeles, Postmates' largest market, can access the channel through a new tab marked "retail" at the top of the company's app. The launch also pushes Postmates, which is in the process of being acquired by Uber, further into Amazon's territory by offering customers an appealing alternative to the online retailer's Prime shipping: Instant delivery.

Uber finally got its food delivery company, acquiring Postmates in a $2.65 billion all-stock deal, the ride-hailing giant confirmed Monday. Uber and its Uber Eats food-delivery division will gain ground against DoorDash, which controls about 37% of the U.S. food delivery market. That's compared with Uber Eats' 20% share before the Postmates deal. But Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com ended up nabbing Chicago's Grubhub in a $7.3 billion deal. Uber was reportedly seeking to team Grubhub with its Uber Eats business.

Food delivery is estimated to be a $70 billion-a-year business in the U.S. Startup companies like Postmates and Instacart have created apps that they hope will tap into that, and more. At just the click of a button, they're aiming to deliver anything, from seafood to shoes, in a matter of hours or just minutes. Jamie Wax takes a behind-the-scenes look at the growing business of instant delivery.