Postmates launches delivery API, announces partnerships with Everlane, Threadflip, Betabrand, & more

SAN FRANCISCO — Postmates, the delivery service for virtually anything from a furniture order to a burrito pickup, announced that it’s making an API available to merchants.

“The Postmates API allows any developer to integrate fast and scalable local, on-demand delivery into their products, websites and apps. It also gives developers access to a delivery fleet of 6,000 drivers and riders in 18 U.S. markets,” the company said on its blog.

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Postmates has enabled many merchants and restaurants to add delivery to their business. The company now has 36,000 restaurants on its platform, and 92 percent of them didn’t offer delivery prior to signing up for Postmates, chief executive Bastian Lehmann said during a press event today at the company’s office.

“Postmates commoditized food delivery for a lot of restaurants,” Lehmann said.

With that said, the company isn’t limiting itself to restaurants, despite its huge success with the food industry. It’s launching its API with six retail partners: Betabrand, MeUndies, Threadflip, Curbside, L., and Everlane — no restaurants.

While none of the company’s direct competitors in the consumer delivery service space have a publicly available API, Postmates will now be competing with startups whose entire business is to power delivery for merchants, such as the Y Combinator-backed Rickshaw. Uber also recently released an API that enables developers to build in its car service within their apps, and it may very well become a competitor if Uber does become the logistics company it has long said it wants to be eventually.

And since Postmates is just getting started with its API, it’s putting out a call to companies in particular areas it would like to expand into, including supply chain logistics, health care services, and groceries and produce. For companies working on these areas and willing to work with Postmates’ API, the company will give them $100,000 in credits.

Developers can get started here.