New service Stuart brings on demand delivery to customers of UK retailers
A NEW on-demand service that aims to deliver products to customers in less than an hour by using retail outlets as mini-depots is launching in the UK today.
Called Stuart, the French-backed business will focus initially on London after raising €22m in pre-launch funding from French postal service GeoPost, among others.
It has developed a proprietary forecasting and dispatch technology to match its couriers with customer demand.
“One hour delivery services have traditionally existed in the food sector, but not in retail,” said David Saenz, UK managing director. “Retailers can outsource the tech and logistics of delivery to us.”
Currently operational in Paris and Barcelona, Stuart works with over 100 retailers and ecommerce platforms to deliver over 40,000 parcels per month. It hopes to bring up to 750 retailers on board.
Research issued by the company today shows that 72 per cent of consumers would spend more if they were offered same-day delivery. It found that half of those surveyed would like high street retailers to have better delivery services.
Stuart offers 30 minute time slots for scheduled deliveries and lets customers change the time or location up to 30 minutes before.