Gopuff, Gorillas and others flood New York with instant delivery

NEW YORK CITY — From the Upper East Side to Williamsburg, delivery company names are plastered on subway turnstiles, bike docks, bus shelters and backpacks of cycling couriers zooming by. They promise to get milk, frozen pizza, diapers and other online purchases to customers’ doors almost instantly.

The explosion of ultrafast delivery services has turned New York City into a testing ground. Gopuff, a pioneer in the “instant needs” category, launched Wednesday in New York City. International players, including Russia-born Buyk and Berlin-based Gorillas, have launched in the city over the past few months. And more are coming, including Turkey’s Getir.

All are making a similar bet: consumers want their goods faster and without leaving home. Yet, they still have to prove they can stand out in a crowded field and turn a profit.

“When Amazon came out with two-day Prime [delivery], that was the most revolutionary thing,” said Yakir Gola, co-founder and co-CEO of Gopuff. “Now, people want it in 20 minutes. In 10 years, people are going to want it in five, 10 minutes. At the end of the day, people value time, so you have to keep innovating.”

The companies could challenge grocers, drugstores, convenience stores and big-box retailers — especially those in dense, urban markets. Many have already rolled out ways to get online purchases to people faster. Walmart has a two-hour or less express delivery option. Target owns fast-growing, same-day delivery service Shipt. And Ulta Beauty and LVMH-owned Sephora recently announced plans for same-day delivery of lotion, lipstick and other beauty goods in select markets.

If ultrafast delivery companies win more customers, they could chip away at competitors’ baskets and reduce shoppers’ trips to the store, said Laura Kennedy, a retail analyst at CB Insights. This happened before, as people began ordering one or two items at a time from Amazon.

“It adds up to a lot of items and then it adds up to not just wallet share, but mindshare,” she said. “It’s death by a thousand cuts.”

The wave of companies operate differently from third-party delivery services like Instacart, DoorDash and UberEats — and act more like retailers.

Across the city, they have opened “dark stores.” They resemble mini warehouses with central locations for quick deliveries to different parts of town. The stores are closed to customers, but have aisles of fruits and vegetables, coolers filled with yogurt and milk, and shelves stuffed with snacks.

When a shopper hits the “buy” button, pickers grab items off the shelves. A fleet of delivery workers — some who are gig workers and some who are employees, depending on the company — strap on a backpack and pedal to the customer in as little as 10 or 15 minutes after the purchase is made.

Buyk CEO Slava Bocharov said the…