Old Navy's Hacking Holiday Delivery With a Postmates Partnership

Old Navy is partnering with Postmates to deliver clothing orders ahead of the holidays, because betting on the USPS during blizzard season is a dangerous game. Here’s how it works:

• Customers order their $1 flip flops as usual on OldNavy.com, then choose the “buy online, pick up in store” option.
• From there, they can request a Postmates courier deliver their order within 24 hours.
• Shoppers in the 4,000 U.S. cities where Postmates operates will have access to the partnership. Delivery costs $8.99 until the program ends at the end of January—except for December 21–23, when it’s free.

Why it matters: In the cutthroat world of e-comm, free or fast shipping isn’t much of a differentiator anymore. Old Navy’s found a way to nip at Amazon’s heels by tapping a localized delivery service and using its stores as distribution centers.

As for Postmates...it’s already traded 2am mozz sticks deliveries for partnerships with Walmart (2018) and Apple (2015). Its customers also have a hankering for clothes: Clothing orders have grown 60% on the delivery app year-over-year.