Postmates is an on-demand delivery app that works in more than 100 metropolitan cities in the USA. The app enables people to get anything from local stores delivered at their doorstep for a small charge. The business model of the Postmate app is similar to that of Uber but Postmates help the customers to get their goods delivered from the local stores.

The Postmates business has human courier networks that allow people to get their goods delivered. Postmates dispatchers get order notification on their mobile devices and GPS is used by the company to coordinate demand and supply in the shortest possible time which works just like Uber.

The Postmates app has its unique business model which has elicited a good amount of funding from investors and has helped the company obtain a large customer base.

Develop Alternative app of Postmates, How to Make an App Like Postmates, Postmates alternative app features to consider

Is Building Postmates Clone app is a suitable solution for you?

You might have this question in your mind, Let me drive you through how postmates works and how they are generating revenue and is it profitable choice to build postmates clone app or not.

How Postmates can into existence:

Postmates is basically an American logistics company. It operates a network of couriers who deliver the goods for them. The app was launched in the year 2011. It pioneered the on-demand delivery movement in the United States. They offered delivery from the restaurants and stores that did not previously offer goods delivery. Postmates has been an ideal example of an on-demand company as rightly stated by the founder Bastian Lehmann as an Anti-Amazon company.

Postmates is a company founded by 3 people namely Bastian Lehmann, Sean Plaice, and Sam Street. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Previously, Postmates was part of Angelpad's first accelerator cohort. But later in the year 2014, Postmates opened its application programming interface to merchants. This enabled even small businesses to get into the delivery of consumer goods and compete with big companies like Amazon.

In the same year, the app completed its millionth delivery and it also had over 6000 drivers hooked to its network. Later in 2015, Postmates surpassed 2.5 million deliveries across 28 markets and expanded its fleet to 13,000 couriers.

On updating its app, Postmates added features like tracking deliveries, gifting meals to others and estimating delivery times. The company launched its delivery service in Mexico City, its first location outside the US in the year 2017. In the next year, the service was launched in 134 new cities in the United States. This brought the total number of cities where Postmates served in the USA to more than 550.

Postmates unveiled Serve, its internally developed first-of-its-kind autonomous delivery rover on December 13, 2018. Also, later in the year 2019, the company made a controversial decision to change its pay structure, lifting the minimum guarantee. Many of the couriers displayed disappointment with this decision.

Fundings of Postmates:

Just in a short period of 4 years, it has come out as a tremendous success. Postmates has accepted official tie-ups with Apple, Mcdonalds, Starbucks, Walgreens, Chipotle and many other well-known companies. Postmates raised $100 million investment from the companies like BlackRock together with Spark Capital, Founders Fund, Uncork Capital, and Slow Ventures in January 2019. So, the total valuation of the company went up to $1.85 billion.

Business Model of Postmates: to Use for your Postmates clone app

» Browse stores and products:

In this step, the major focus is on creating demand. People have a smartphone app as well as a desktop application which allows them to demand any product at their doorstep.

» Payment:

Only when an order is paid for, it is said to be received at Postmates. Later, a delivery fee is included with the actual price of the order depending on the pickup and drop-off location. Each payment is handled by the Postmates app.

» Matching:

Once the order is confirmed after payment a notification about the order is sent to a Postmates delivery person stationed nearest to the store. The person then shops for the order and delivers it at the doorstep within 1 hour. The delivery person can either travel by car or bike. The process of matching is done in such a way that the orders are processed within 1 hour.

» Tracking, Receiving Order & Tips

Another interesting feature in the Postmates business model is that it allows the user to track the precise location of the delivery person. Postmates have an alternative to send a text to the user in case of delays. The customers have a choice of tipping the delivery person. Even though the company is against tips the delivery persons earn tips in the majority of orders.

If you are interested to start an on-demand delivery business and you are interested to build a Postmates clone app or you are looking for a Postmates clone app script, you might be interested in its revenue model. Postmates unique and legendary revenue model has been its backbone for achieving tremendous success. Let's check out how does Postmates app earns money.

There are 3 main revenue systems for Postmates:

1. Delivery Fee

The delivery fee that is charged by Postmates for each processed order is its mainstream for raising revenue. They charge a fee starting from $5 but there are distinct ongoing offers where the company offers $3 or even lower delivery. But it is notable that 80% of the total delivery fee goes to the delivery person and rest 20% is Postmates’ revenue.

2. Convenience Charge

Apart from the delivery fee, Postmates charges a flat fee of 9% as a convenience fee. There is no cap on this fee. People pay this fee happily as they wish to have the comfort of getting goods delivered at their doorstep without spending time and effort. This fee also adds up to Postmates’ revenue.

3. Merchant Programme

The company has recently launched a merchant program. This program includes tying up with the local stores and signing an official agreement. The main intention of this agreement is that the store pays a settled percentage of the total bill to Postmates for their service.

» Value Proposals:

Postmates' business model extends unique value proposals for clients, delivery personal as well as local stores. Let’s recognize the value contributed by Postmates to these customer segments.

» Users:

The Postmates allows its users to order anything from local partner stores and at the same time, Postmates is available for its users for 24 hours and all 365 days. The app promises to deliver things in less than 1 hour.

» Merchants:

Merchants get an extensive customer base. The company allows these merchants to serve their own customers right at their doorstep. The app provides online visibility to the merchant over the Postmates platform.

» Delivery Persons:

The delivery persons working with Postmates can work according to their own schedule. The revenue model provides 80% of the delivery fee. This way, the more deliveries they make, the more they earn.

Also read : On-demand delivery app development: Postmates (on-demand delivery service) is expanding and moving towards its next IPO

How does the Postmates app get its customers?

Well, after knowing the business model and Value proposition of the Postmates app, you must also be interested to know how do they get their clients. Well, mostly, the company gets its clients by their popularity which spreads through word of mouth. In their early days, they had used digital marketing as a method to attract more audiences towards their app.

As a technology partner, Coruscate can help you with all the necessary information required for your startup to build a Postmates clone app. We have the latest technologies to build an app with unique features and modules. We can also help you to curate a specific business model for your company. For more information related to the on-demand delivery apps, get in touch with our expert team member.

Note: We do not make clones of any exact application, clone means to us is how better we can execute your app idea with existing app features and experience.