Walmart is coming is to Bushwick! Well, kinda.
The mega corporation recently bought out Parcel, a Bushwick-based logistics startup that offers speedy deliveries, and plans to use it as a “last-mile” service to customers in New York City, Inc. reported
In the complicated chess game of shipping and delivery in the city, Walmart has staked a claim in Bushwick and made a calculated move against rival Amazon, which offers Prime members free two-hour delivery on some goods and same-day delivery on a huge catalog of products.
Walmart won’t be opening up a superstore in Bushwick, so don’t freak out. But it will absorb Parcel into its own same-day delivery service, Jet, which recently announced it would start selling upmarket groceries online aimed at young urbanites.
That’s where the Bushwick connection comes into play.
Parcel currently operates much of its delivery service out of a warehouse on Grattan Street near Morgan Avenue. The startup, which launched in 2014, quickly won the hearts of Bushwickers for the real-time text order updates and lightning-fast deliveries. Parcel also compiled a database of all the buildings in New York City it has delivered to, including photos and information on specific entrances— simple innovations that had never occurred to USPS or other couriers, it seems.
The takeover cost Wally under $10 million. For the conglomerate, it’s a small price to pay for entry into the niche industry of delivering premium groceries to your basement apartment. It will be hard, but you may just have to thank them.
Cover image courtesy of Parcel