Determined to keep its edge in all things ecommerce, eBay is testing a same-day shipping service dubbed eBay Now. “eBay is trying to revolutionize local commerce,” VentureBeat writes.
“We are witnessing the rise of convenience
tech,” according to TechCrunch.
“A top eBay executive has
confirmed that it's the brainchild of Jack Abraham, an entrepreneur who sold local shopping-search startup Milo.com to eBay in December for 2010 for $75 million,” reports Business Insider.
An iOS app, eBay Now’s beta is letting San Francisco residents get $5 same-day
shipping on products from local stores.
“It’s now signing up users for an ‘exclusive beta,’” TechCrunch notes. “Anyone can register, and those admitted should get a download link
soon.”
“The new service … could be a reaction to competition from Amazon, which has begun what appears to be an initiative to get next day delivery up and running,
and perhaps eventually same day delivery,” Forbes writes.
“All the
speculation about Amazon's same-day shipping service may have been wishful thinking, but it seems like eBay is really going to give it a shot,” Gizmodo
jokes.
With this latest effort, eBay is also likely responding to star-tups like TaskRabbit and Uber, which are trying to differentiate themselves with same-day delivery.