On-demand delivery startup Postmates is launching Pop, its 15-minutes-or-less food delivery service, in New York City tomorrow at 11am ET. With Pop, which launched in San Francisco back in October, Postmates features a daily curated list of lunch items that you can receive in 15 minutes or less. Pop will be available from 34th street down to the Bowery in New York. Upon launch, there will be no delivery fee.
The launch comes a few weeks after Postmates launched its Amazon Prime-like subscription service, a week after Postmates launched Pop in Los Angeles and two days after Uber got rid of its UberEats instant option in New York.
“In order to bring you the most exciting selection, the highest quality food, and the fastest delivery time, we’ve decided to narrow our focus,” Uber wrote in an email to New York UberEats customers earlier this week.
Even though Uber ditched the instant option, UberEats is maintaining its service in New York. That’s likely because Uber actually says that its food delivery business is growing and has doubled the number of users in the last month, according to Business Insider.
Given that the instant option in UberEats is basically the same as Postmates Pop — with the exception of Uber’s 10-minute delivery versus Pop’s 15 — Uber killing off the instant option in New York begs some questions. Were the logistics in New York just not working? Was Uber overbuying from merchants in New York? Were not enough Uber drivers in New York willing to deliver food?
What’s interesting is that Uber is only shutting down the Eats instant option in New York, and keeping it alive in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the other markets in which it operates.
“Since launching the standalone UberEATS app under a month ago, we’ve seen an incredible response and have more than doubled the numbers of users,” Michael Conti,  general manager of UberEVERYTHING NYC, said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “The app has allowed restaurants across Manhattan to expand their reach and customer base. With these small updates, we can ensure we are providing the best experience for customers, restaurant owners, and couriers alike.”
