Necessity might be the mother of invention — but it’s also the materfamilias of adaptation. And right now, we’re witnessing a mother of an adaptation event in the gig economy.
One of the most pivotal drivers of this shift was COVID-19. At its onset, the pandemic upended nearly the entire business community, causing many workers to turn to “gigging” for either part- or full-time roles.
Growth was spurred even further by an increased reliance on home delivery. Preferring not to brave grocery store aisles personally, consumers far and wide chose to have others shop for necessities on their behalf. As a result, approximately one-third of American workers are now part of this new freelance workforce, contributing nearly $1 trillion in income to the nation’s economy.
Will this trend falter anytime soon? Not likely, as consumers are still utilizing many of the same delivery services even after restrictions have eased across the country.
Companies along the value chain were, of course, quick to respond. Walmart, for one, officially launched its two-hour express delivery at select stores; Amazon and Target both expanded their offering of products available for one-day and same-day delivery. Additionally, Instacart and Shipt ramped up their hiring efforts to keep their delivery services running smoothly after seeing mobile app downloads increase by 218% and 124%, respectively, in March 2020 alone.
The Start of the Delivery Battle
In this suddenly expansive market and ensuing land grab, the question is: How can retailers remain competitive? The answer lies in technology.
Given the cutthroat competition and razor-thin margins, every company will need to differentiate in a similar way, and precision last-mile delivery has quickly become a key differentiator for delivery.
Technology is starting to provide the solutions necessary to satisfy the needs of the most exacting of customers. With its recent FAA approval, for instance, Amazon is getting closer to making drone deliveries a norm. Ascend portfolio company Sojourn is also making great strides in bridging the last-meter gap in delivery with proprietary AI and computer vision software. Its supply chain platform now allows for precision of delivery, reduction of misdeliveries, and elimination of package disappearance.
Investing in Emerging Delivery Technology and Data-Centric Businesses
What does this competitive environment mean for those currently building an investment portfolio? In a word: opportunity.
None of this precision would be possible without data and technology, making it more important than ever to select funds that specialize in data-centric and emerging tech. Changing market conditions can be found at the heart of nearly every business sector undergoing an adaptation — from healthcare to urban planning to telecommunications — and it’s all being driven by high-growth, data-centric companies.
As experts in data-centric and emerging technology, Ascend Venture Capital is in the market to back early-stage companies that fit this bill. And for investors wondering how to build an investment portfolio with higher returns, our team is here to help.
If you’d like to learn more about what performance benefits a data-centric micro VC firm has to offer, feel free to get in touch. We’d be more than happy to help you explore these thriving new business sectors. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the market trends affecting the investment space. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Image by Martin Woortman