Shutl Ltd., a London-based startup that matches retailers with local courier services, debuts today in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, according to chicagobusiness.com. The business model could be a direct move to combat customers shifting to Amazon for their shopping needs.
The service acts as a middleman between local retailers and the customer, employing couriers to pick up merchandise ordered online and deliver it within 90 minutes of the transaction or within a separate one-hour window designated by the customer, the article reported.
Shutl began in the U.K. in 2008 and has since contracted with thousands of couriers to complete purchases across 75 percent of the country, said Shutl's founder Tom Allason, in the article.
"Amazon is not limited by what they can fit in stores ... and Amazon's has much lower overhead than multichannel retailers," he said. "We believe delivery is that third battleground where local stores can win."
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