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eBay has purchased the ecommerce delivery startup Shutl, which aims to deliver online purchases in minutes.
Tom Allason, founder and CEO of Shutl, announced the acquisition on the delivery service provider’s online blog.
“Our mission was, and still is today, a simple one – to give people what they want, when they want it,” said Allason.
“I have the utmost appreciation for the eBay team and am excited and honored for Shutl to be a part of their plans, starting today in Chicago.
"eBay’s bold vision to redefine local commerce is one that fits perfectly with what we have set out to achieve at Shutl.”
Allason went on to say that the purchase would help Shutl to speed up its national and international roll-outs.
The UK-based service, which was founded by Allason in 2008, uses networked couriers to deliver packages within a few hours of purchase online, with packages sometimes arriving in a single hour.
“Traditional retail isn’t going away,” eBay President Devin Wenig said at an event in New York. “But it is transforming, and that creates enormous opportunity within the $10 trillion total commerce market.”
eBay launched its ‘Click and Collect’ service in collaboration with Argos last month, and the acquisition of Shutl follows the online marketplace’s statement that it would be bringing the same-day delivery service ‘eBay Now’ to the UK.
“Together, with the eBay Inc. portfolio, we have the ability to help define the future of shopping,” Allason said.
