Following the development of items like the e-book, the culture of convenience in modern society took over the wants and needs of consumers. Commercial giants like Amazon and Uber recently added new services UberEATS and Amazon Prime Now in an effort to latch on to the new generation of impatient buyers.
UberEATS, the food delivery platform founded in August 2014, builds on the success of the Uber transportation empire. According to the UberEATS website, the objective of the vehicular waitressing is to make “getting great food from your favorite local restaurants as easy as requesting a ride.” UberEATS has been implemented in 39 Amerian cities in addition to 30 more cities worldwide. The very motto of the service, “Crave. Tap. Enjoy.” is an ode to its simplicity and efficiency. The “30 minutes or less” phenomenon once limited to pizza has now expanded to include every food imaginable, from local gelato to Mediterranean cuisine to gourmet burgers.
Delivery giant Amazon also caught on to this consumer trend, rolling out the Prime Now service. While Amazon’s Prime subscription was already in place and holding its own in the delivery business, the Prime Now extension offers free two-hour and a $7.99 one-hour arrival of whatever order was placed via a few taps on a smart device. Amazon follows Uber’s lead with a three-word accessibility motto: “Skip the trip.” Users can indeed “skip the trip” to a local store by ordering groceries, household essentials, pet supplies, kids toys, and items for the bathroom and office right from their cell phone. While these services may seem conventional and expected, they are a continuation of the trend of expectancy sweeping consumers everywhere.
The culture of convenience has even found itself influencing the medical industry. Visits to the doctor may experience a decline with the introduction of MDLIVE. MDLIVE is a telehealth provider with 24/7/365 access to both medical doctors and therapists who treat a variety of illnesses and disorders. Their cost-efficient service is designed to replace urgent care visits and trips to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment with a quick video call via their app. Visits cost $49 or less, allow clients to skip the waiting room process and speak to a board-certified doctor of their choosing within 15 minutes. When appropriate to the situation, medication will be prescribed and sent directly to the pharmacy of the user’s choice.
The implications of these new services involve a rapidly increasing impatience amongst consumers, as well as a lack of appreciation for hard work, as they begin to expect things quite literally at the tap of a button.
We live in a hot-n-ready, tap-to-deliver society, and those who haven’t caught on will quickly find themselves behind the curve.
With new developments like drone delivery and electronic personal assistants on the rise, the culture of convenience is likely to rise in power and influence, perhaps leading to a Jetson-like, science-fiction state where one merely thinks of what they’d like and has it delivered to them immediately.