WeDeliver, an online delivery service based in Chicago, is aiming to streamline the payment process with the launch of its mobile commerce application WeDeliver Locally ahead of the busy holiday season.

The app is designed to bring more convenience to delivery specialists and consumers with a slew of easy-to-use features and offer Chicago residents the capability of same-day delivery from a growing base of local merchants. WeDeliver, which currently has over 40 local merchants signed to its WeDeliver Locally service, has been beta testing the app in the past several weeks and has seen positive results, including an increased amount of transactions.

“I really think that consumers will respond favorably to the app as it’s making their purchasing process almost effortless,” said Mike Cochrane, sales director at Atimi, Vancouver, Canada. “You place your order with your smart device and the customer can watch the delivery in real time as your purchase makes its way to you.

“With the release of the app in the Google Play store just in time for the holidays, it will alleviate some of the traffic in the store and save the customer time looking for parking and then waiting in line to pay.”

Simple features
WeDeliver’s app provides features designed to boost simplicity and making the payment process as easy as possible for everyone involved. Once a specialist accepts a delivery, the app will provide the driver with the name, address and phone number of the consumer and the merchant he or she ordered from.

The driver can use the “Call” button to phone either the merchant or customer without manually entering any numbers. Once the delivery is made, the driver will tap the “Delivered” button, which then allows clients to sign directly within the app.

For picking up orders from merchants, the driver will select the “Status” feature and note that the order has been “Picked Up.” He or she will also snap a photo of the order for the merchant to confirm that the order has been received, and the merchant may sign on a mobile device as well.

“The more intimate and immediate the form of payment, the better it is for local businesses,” said Li-at Karpel Gurwicz, vice president of marketing at Como, New York. “No matter which tool they choose, mobile payment options let these vendors compete with larger retailers with lower costs of transactions and make it easier for consumers to make purchases from devices they’re rarely without.”

Rapidly expanding
WeDeliver has been rapidly expanding to include a greater amount of merchants in the Chicago area, including Local Foods, Pastoral Artisan Cheese Bread & Wine, Greer Stationary, Marguerite Gardens, Vosges Haut-Chocolat and Farmer’s Fridge.

WeDeliver recognizes that mobile commerce is a sector growing at even faster rate than ecommerce, and seeks to support local businesses and consumers’ favorite products through the most convenient manner possible, the mobile device.

“With more and more consumers turning to their mobile devices to find information, shop, and make reservations, it makes sense for there to be a mobile app that allows them to order from local merchants for delivery, especially since they have become accustomed to handling those three tasks conveniently from their phones while on the go,” Ms. Karpel Gurwicz said.

The app is being promoted on social media with the #ShopLocally hashtag. The company is also encouraging consumers to use the hashtag to request their favorite businesses join WeDeliver’s platform.

“The delivery sector apps are a great way to make busy lives and schedules more efficient,” Atimi’s Mr. Cochrane said. “These apps are important as they recognize a growing demand from consumers to make interacting with brands easier.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York