How big is the same-delivery market and how fast is it growing? The folks at BI Intelligence published a report, and they estimate that about $100 million of merchandise will be ordered via same-day delivery in 2014, generating about $20 million in shipping fees (the analysis covers just 20 U.S. cities). By 2018, they predict that $4.03 billion of merchandise will be ordered via same-day delivery (a 5-year CAGR of 154 percent), generating a little over $1 billion in shipping fees.
These are huge growth numbers and one of the principal reasons we are seeing so much VC interest in the space–Doordash, Cargofish, SpoonRocket, Washio, Ice Cream Life, Caviar, Grubhub, FoodPanda, Shutl, Zipments, Delivery.com, Instacart, Drizly, Postmates, Deliv, Uber, Daojia.com.cn, favor, parcel, Rosie, curbside, Door to Door Organics, Loup, to name but a few recent investments.
What's the gating factor for all these players? The ability to get reliable, presentable couriers that speak English (or Spanish in Miami, for example), for one. With Uber & Lyft tryng to capture the best players, any start up is going to need a very compelling and profitable (for the courier) story to lure them away. The issue then becomes can the business model support paying couriers $50K a year…not likely in many cases.
The other gating factor is logistics and technology. Routing delivery operations requires sophisticated technology, taking into account time of day, traffic, building constraints, etc. Many of these start ups do not have these capabilities ready to scale. Many are using cell phone apps for routing and communication, which might work for a few couriers, but not hundreds.
There are lots of investment opportunities in theses spaces, including the development of mesh networks (weft, Veniam) to manage operations in urban environments.
The next revolution in supply chain is upon us…
A VC in Vacationland 
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