By: Nick Gambino
In answer to a largely quarantined population, Postmates has just added a couple new categories that’ll let users order essentials and other products of convenience to be delivered right to their doorstep.
The categories – Convenience and Essentials – were added as part of an expanded partnership with Walgreens as well as a new partnership with 7-Eleven. The latter already has a deal in place with DoorDash that allows you to get your Big Gulp delivered directly to your isolation chamber, aka your home.
“Today we’re introducing two new categories on Postmates: Essentials & Convenience,” a Postmates blog post reads. “Now when you’re looking for items like toothpaste, contact solution, nail polish remover, or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, you can order by item – as if you were walking through the aisles of your favorite stores.”
The Essentials category is where you’ll get items from Walgreens, including things like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, allergy meds and so on. Convenience is where you’ll see your 7-Eleven products. There’s a reason this is called “Convenience” and not “Essentials” as this category includes snacks like chips, candy, Slurpees and other so-bad-their-good treats. In other words, this is where you get your 7-Eleven fix, and we all know what that means.
Postmates users will be able to see these categories right at the top when they open the app, making it extremely “convenient.” Now, these categories aren’t available to just any user. You have to be in a city where they have a Walgreens (or Duane Reade which is owned by Walgreens) or 7-Eleven. Most, if not all, major cities should have at least one of these stores, so it’s a pretty wide-reaching additional service.
With COVID-19 on the loose, a number of companies have stepped up to allow people to quarantine a little easier, knowing they can still receive essentials without endangering their health in the process. Services like Zoom and Google Hangout are also allowing people to stay in touch and engage in some sort of human contact, even if not in person.
Postmates is just another company adapting to a new, and hopefully temporary, way of living.
