Etsy is partnering with on-demand delivery service provider Postmates to test same-day and next-day delivery in New York City, according to a report from Re/code.
The delivery service, titled Etsy ASAP, will launch in fall 2015 and will be available to Etsy sellers based in Manhattan, as well as parts of Brooklyn and Queens. If sellers have enabled the service, shoppers based in these areas will see an express delivery option on Etsy product search pages and checkout pages. Sellers can determine which products in their catalogue are available for Postmates, and they can choose a window for expected delivery times. Express delivery will cost shoppers an additional $20.
At first glance, Etsy ASAP appears to combat new shipping options provided by Amazon, which has further positioned himself as a competitor to Etsy. In May, the e-Commerce giant launched Handmade, a new marketplace that onboards artisans to sell unique, handcrafted goods online.Handmade sellers who already store inventory with Amazon will qualify for Prime shipping, which delivers goods to shoppers within two days.
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Etsy Crowdsources For New Manufacturing Service
The e-Commerce marketplace also has unveiled Etsy Manufacturing, a new service that matches Etsy sellers with interested manufacturers. Now accepting applications from manufacturers looking to join the program, Etsy is striving to help sellers expand their businesses and source production assistance when needed.
“While Etsy will not be doing direct audits or site visits, we will review and approve manufacturer applications on an individual basis according to a number of criteria, such as their commitment to transparency, the degree to which they allow subcontracting, and their size,” said Heather Jassy, SVP of Members and Community at Etsy, in a company blog post. “We would like the designer to know more about each manufacturer’s story and business, and we are building the platform to showcase this as an entry point to more conversations and visits between the designer and her partner.”
For the program, Etsy is onboarding manufacturers in four product categories: Apparel and textiles, machining and fabrication, printing, and jewelry and metalwork.
The e-Commerce marketplace first allowed sellers to use outside manufacturers in 2013, as more sellers looked to expand their businesses and further scale merchandise production. Since enabling the policy, approximately 5,000 sellers have applied for outside manufacturing, resulting in 7,853 partnerships as of June 30, 2015.
