With 7-Eleven now offering a delivery service to more than 2m000 hot spots such as beaches and parks, the gig delivery world just expanded.
The retailer told The Associated Press that more than 2,000 7-Eleven “hot spots” including New York’s Central Park and Venice Beach in Los Angeles will be working starting Monday. Customers need to download 7-Eleven’s 7NOW app and select “Show 7NOW Pins” to find a hot spot near them.
The chain foresees eventually having 200,000 hot spot locations, said to Gurmeet Singh, 7-Eleven’s executive vice president and chief digital information and marketing officer.
See the Dallas News story here.
The company says there’s no minimum order required. The same fees apply to both delivery services. The chain charges a flat delivery fee of $3.99. And for orders under $15, customers pay an extra $1.99. For all orders, it promises average wait time of 30 minutes. For both services, the orders are fulfilled from its 9,100 stores.
This move from 7-Eleven is extraordinary and demonstrates the power of having a phone that pinpoints your location for delivered of even something as simple as a Slurpee.
The gig economy is alive and well. Maybe 7-Eleven could take over paper delivery with this service. Hang on, US$3.99 per delivery indicates not. That US$3.99 figure reinforces that newsagents price their delivery service too low.
The gig economy may be alive and well but it is built on a scam, gig economy workers are not getting minimum wages.
Check out the forums for Australia. Drivers for menulog, deliveroo, uber etc are a very unhappy bunch.
The race to the bottom on price, driven by millenials, is driving 1000’s of businesses bust, to provide non living wages for guess who, millenials.
The article highlights this circular feeding frenzy is accelerating, with small businesses and individuals losing out as money is scammed for a few valued in billions who themselves have never made a profit.
We could be seeing a repeat of the tech bubble of late 1990’s.
Hold on to your hat and double down on in-store service.
When you have cheap labour its amazing what you can do.
When people are desperate they will do anything, doesn’t mean they are content.
UK is several years ahead of Australia with gig economy and no surprise, labout productivity has collapsed. As the gig economy to often adds nothing, just scams the same service between more participants making less each.
Australia gdp growth is now less than population growth. The politicians will gloss over the fact this amounts to recession. But they may focus on the productivity issue.
UK and USA have responded by increasing minimum wages dramatically to liitle effect. The gig economy will soon become the focus of politicians as they seek someone to blame. Meanwhile the hollowing out continues.
Colin,
Good points and it is happening in the way you put it.
It happened in the 70’s in retail with the wives and singles opening boutique fashion stores and Card and Gift store. Hallmark had speciality stores. In those days it was the ‘filling of the market of empty space” for Shopping Centres just opening and new tenants taking rent deals until the spaces were filled.
It took the cream away from the steady retailer and sent those over geared broke however over time like you say they didn’t survive. Nuisance value only.
Newsagents have operated a form of gig economy with paper home delivery and agency business for decades.