CHICAGO — Need to get somewhere but don’t have a car? Schedule a ride through Uber.
Don’t feel like going out to eat but there’s nothing good in the fridge? Use GrubHub to order from a nearby restaurant and have your meal delivered.
Looking for a birthday gift for a friend? Go shopping on Amazon to find that perfect item and have it shipped right to your door or to theirs.
The ease with which consumers can connect with businesses by using apps on their smartphones or by accessing websites from their personal computers has never been greater.
A January 2014 Pew Research Center survey revealed that 87% of American adults use the Internet. Add to this the proliferation of smartphones — Pew reports that, as of October 2014, 64% of American adults have such a phone — and their increasing functionality places unparalleled tools at a consumer’s fingertips to easily order and customize service experiences.
The concept of offering pickup and delivery as part of one’s drycleaning service certainly isn’t new. But developing an app through which a customer can remotely order drycleaning or laundry service, share preferences and request delivery is a relatively new trend. A number of players have entered the market in hopes of capturing the convenience-driven crowd.
In metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, or in commuter-heavy areas like Bakersfield, Calif., these businesses will gladly pick up one’s dirty laundry, have it cleaned, and then return their clothes to them for a price.
The companies behind these drycleaning and laundry service mobile apps either process the goods in their own facility or they partner with a dry cleaner or dry cleaners in the service area to do the cleaning.
American Drycleaner spoke to the developers of three such mobile apps to get a sense of what they offer and where they see on-demand laundry services going in the future. The first of these is WashClub.
WASHCLUB
Rick Rome is the CEO and founder of WashClub, an on-demand laundry, drycleaning and tailoring service that is now available in 14 states and four New York City boroughs. Last month, the company announced the opening of its newest branch in Miami.
WashClub licenses its exclusive, customizable software to brick-and-mortar laundry and drycleaning operators across the United States. Licensees are able to offer services to customers via WashClub or their own branded concept.
“Our software is built by an operator for operators,” says Rome, who owns WashClub NYC and offers laundry services to New Yorkers in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
WashClub charges a one-time fee, then receives 5% of all business generated by the software.
“Our interest is aligned with yours,” Rome says. “There is no competition. If you kill, we get to eat, too. If you don’t kill, we’re starving with you.”
It can be difficult for a traditional laundry or drycleaning business to grow organically without acquiring another similar business, he says, and the growth of the Internet is “all about extending your storefront virtually.”
In many cases, the businesses that become WashClub licensees already have the necessary laundry or drycleaning equipment and facility in place, and the software enables them to utilize their excess capacity, according to Rome.
He doesn’t agree with the assertion that on-demand services like his may simply be an “urban phenomenon.”
“That’s not true at all. I don’t know anybody in the suburbs who likes doing laundry anymore than someone likes doing laundry or dry cleaning in the city. It’s just about service and convenience.”
Check back Thursday for the conclusion!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].