On-Demand As Tablestakes For Mainstream Consumer Experiences

The mobile-fueled “on-demand economy” has gone through a few phases. It started with magic, like — “hey, I can order an app from my phone!” Then, as distribution choked on mobile, entrepreneurs starting building “Uber for X” ideas like Postmates and other great apps — then people said, “hey, how many of these services can we have?” It started to sound like a bubble of ideas that wouldn’t be supported by the market, let alone venture capital. The economics of providing an on-demand service in today’s mobile world vary from company to company (and related to the cost of goods sold, where the delivery is often a loss leader or subsidized by the customer through a fee and/or tip).

For now, as 2014 ends, it seems the next phase for on-demand services is going to be seeping into the mainstream. Whether the economics work or not, the reality today is that consumers now expect on-demand service options and offering them can change consumer behavior. This month, Starbucks CEO Shultz announced on a public earnings call that Starbucks will begin testing “coffee delivery” in 2015. Or, consider Costco, which is now open to shoppers (note: they don’t have to be members) through Instacart or Google Shopping Express. Or, consider a startup called Curbside, which offers the ability to order and pick up at store — not quite on-demand, but moving in that direction. Has your spend at Target declined over the last few years? I thought so.

I was paying my credit card bill this morning and noticed the charges were overwhelmingly for two things: transportation or food. With transport, aside from airlines, the charges were for ride-sharing services, and with food, spread out over an array of new services and payment apps, many of which deliver things to me. It is the new expectation for mobile-first consumer experiences. Look at companies like Sprig and Spoonrocket — these are are entirely new brands and could be delivering amazing craft coffees right to your desk, bypassing your need to wait in the Blue Bottle line for 20 minutes. This is a silly example, but illustrates a point — when mobile is combined with a clear brand which offers a suitable or better substitute to something we already do, companies like Starbucks even need to start thinking about new interactions around consumer experience.