A new delivery app in the Big Apple charges $5 to bring designer clothing to shoppers’ doors within 50 minutes – and its fashion-obsessed couriers offer to wait while customers try on their purchases.
Launched in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2021, Ole (no accent on the “e,” but still pronounced “o-lay”) has inked deals with some 10 boutiques in Manhattan – including Atelier, Cynthia Rowley, Kirna Zabete and Simkhai.
The app’s couture-savvy couriers — who are on bicycles in the city and drive cars in the suburbs — deliver dresses, jeans, bags and shoes with delivery workers who might even offer their opinion on a fit.
“These are delivery people who are interested in fashion,” co-founder Gal Aharon told The Post. “Half of them are women and some are fashion students at FIT,” or models, Aharon added.
The service, which is called “Try-and Buy”, was launched in Manhattan and Brooklyn about five month ago. Now, it has expanded to Long Island as well as certain areas of New Jersey.
Two young women in Manhattan ordered a few bags. One of them was kept, and the second one sent back to the delivery person.
Another customer in Hoboken ordered several dresses from Nili Lotan on Duane Street in Tribeca for the Met Gala last week, enlisting the courier’s opinion on which dress looked best.
Ole makes money on each item that’s sold on its platform, with retailers giving the company a percentage of the sale, Aharon said. Ole transactions average $400.
Other retailers, such as Net-a-Porter, charge $25 for same-day delivery. However, they do not guarantee a time frame of 50 minutes, or that unwanted products can be returned on-site.
Retailers can offer this service to their frequent customers as a way of rewarding them. It also reduces the number of return items and the amount time that valuable products are not available in store for other people to buy.
“It’s a sales driver for us,” said Sofia Ajodan, vice president of merchandising and sales for Simkhai, which has a boutique in SoHo that has been sending merchandise to its best customers via Ole.
What’s more, she said, “A typical return might take two weeks to get back to the store, which is critical selling time we are missing out on.”
Deliveries are made by delivery staff wearing Ole branded back packs and black T-shirts. The customer is notified when the order has been completed.
It’s rare that Ole has to send a notification informing the customer that their 15 minutes are over, Aharon said.
“People are generally aware that someone is waiting,” she added.
Delivery workers must not leave the shop until customers sign off the transaction. They can either keep the goods or send some of them back.
Dresses are folded neatly and packaged in the boxes by the shop.
“It blew me away that the delivery person waits for the return,” Ajodan said.
“The delivery workers are not schlubby-looking,” she added. “It’s similar to an Uber Black driver” who arrives in luxury vehicles.
Customers only pay for what they keep – and the $5 delivery fee. But if they choose not to try on the clothing right away – as some 40% of Ole’s customers – they are charged for the entire order until they summon Ole to pick up the items they don’t want.
In addition to the low delivery fee, delivery workers are Ole’s greatest point of differentiation in a crowded field – and they are carefully vetted with two in-person interviews.
“We ask them whether they are service oriented, interested in fashion and we present them with certain scenarios to see how they react,” Aharon said.
By the end of the year, Aharon expects Ole to have some 50 retailers signed on – but not the Chanel’s and Gucci’s of the fashion world.
“It’ll take time to bring them into the fold,” she said.