NYC-based online platform delivery.com announced today that it has acquired Austin, TX-based Mr. Delivery. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This marks the sixth acquisition for delivery.com, whose platform connects customers to local retailers and restaurants to facilitate and the order and processing of goods and services. Sat in an NYC subway car at any point in the last five years? They’re frequently plastered with delivery.com ads listing all the different goods the platform can connect you with: restaurant food, groceries, booze, laundry services, etc.
Though its home is in the Big Apple, delivery.com is starting to expand across the rest of the country, with a current roster of cities that includes major metropolises Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., as well as a handful of mid-sized cities, most of them on the East Coast.
The acquisition of Mr. Delivery sees delivery.com expanding beyond those markets and upping its capabilities around restaurant food delivery. According to a press release, the acquisition will have Delivery.com expanding food delivery into Mr. Delivery’s current 160 cities, giving delivery.com a total presence in 38 states and over 1,800 U.S. cities, with more to come in the future. Meanwhile, Mr. Delivery will assume the delivery.com brand and technologies immediately. Delivery.com said in the press release it hopes to add other services, like grocery and laundry, to Mr. Delivery cities in the near future.
Restaurants who currently work with Mr. Delivery will get access to delivery.com’s order confirmation tools, business analytics, and partner integrations, among other things. In return, delivery.com gets access to last-mile delivery capabilities, as it will have use of Mr. Delivery’s network of drivers. This is the first time in its history delivery.com will actually be able to actually deliver the goods to customers; previously, the platform merely facilitated online orders and payments, leaving the last mile to the merchant.
But it’s a crowded market for both restaurant and grocery services. Between third-party delivery services’ push to mid-sized markets and companies like Walmart and Instacart bringing grocery delivery to every corner of the country, there’s increasingly less room for other players.
Delivery.com’s claim to fame has always been about serving the local business community and connecting customers to neighborhood stores and eateries. This, too, has always been Mr. Delivery’s credo when it comes to restaurant food delivery. Now we have to see if that focus on local is enough to help these companies stand out as they expand.
