Rolling Convenience Stores

Sounds a bit cheesy, but probably inevitable and happening.  Would you have such a device installed in your car?

The Dawn of Mobile Convenience Stores and (Maybe) Free Rides By Alex Davies in Wired.

Having Cargo drivers peddle Red Bull and anti-hangover tablets to club-bound millennials is a clever business, but it’s just one corner of a market that’s set to erupt. Six Years after six years after a startup called Uber made it easier than ever for anyone to make money driving their car, a startup called Cargo is making it easier than ever for anyone who makes money driving their car to also make money running a convenience store.

Ride-hailing drivers who sign up with Cargo get shipments of the sort of things people would buy at a gas station (that’s where the people who drive you around in Ubers and Lyfts go to put gasoline in their vehicles): energy drinks, Advil, phone charging cables, candy bars, and so on. A passenger uses their smartphone to make a purchase, the driver hands it over (after parking, of course), and takes a cut of the sale. Cargo already operates in cities around the US, including New York, Chicago, DC, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Dallas. It’s aiming to reach 20,000 drivers this year.

This week, Cargo took its first step overseas. Working with Uber competitor Grab in the company’s native Singapore, it launched a service called Grab&Go. Drivers who sell snacks and hand out free samples of beauty products, they say, can make nearly $200 a month on top of their regular earnings—and boost their ratings by delighting passengers with their oh-so-convenient wares.

Having drivers peddle Red Bull and anti-hangover tablets to club-bound millennials is a clever business, but it’s just one corner of a market that’s set to erupt. As humanity’s car habit shifts from owning and driving to sharing and riding, the vehicle will evolve from sanctuary to marketplace. .... "