Some people love to go out shopping. Others would just like the goods to magically appear at their doorstep.
If you're in that second group, there's a new online service called Urban Sherpas. It does the running around for you.
Whether it's an outfit you've fallen in love with, a coffee run or even a sneaky Sunday morning KFC, Urban Sherpa will pick up items from any store in the Auckland CBD and deliver it to your door.
That helps traditional retailers compete with the big names online.
"We see the city as our warehouse," says chief executive Brian Dewil. "Other systems have massive stocked warehouses. We see the city as ours."
From your PC or mobile, you let Urban Sherpa know what you want, where it's from and how soon you want it. A message is then sent to one of their staff, who will then do the shopping for you.
Once the purchase is completed, the Sherpa then delivers the item to your work or home within an hour.
"You can choose to have something come straight to you within an hour and pay $19, or $12 dollars means you will get the item within three hours," says Mr Dewil.
While many courier companies are starting to use drones, Mr Dewil isn't convinced.
"I see drones as gimmicky and unsustainable. Even Google and Amazon haven't been able to prove the concept."
Instead of deliveries from the air, Urban Sherpa prefer to deliver using their special bike, called the Blue Bullet.
They see the Blue Bullet as being a key weapon in bric-and-mortar retailers fighting back against online shopping.
3 News
source: newshub archive
