Rideshare pioneer shifts into park

Sidecar, an early pioneer in the ridesharing and delivery app space, shut down as of Dec. 31.



In a post on the blog platform Medium, Sidecar co-founders Sanil Paul and Jahan Khanna announced the closure. The San Francisco-based company, which launched its app in 2011, claims to have invented the technology and concept behind on-demand ridesharing. Sidecar’s launch and the launch of Uber were in the same general time-frame, but at the least Sidecar has to be considered among the first rideshare app providers.



Sidecar added a number of features and functions over the years. Of most interest to the retail industry, Sidecar added a delivery service in February 2015 which it said worked with hundreds of retailers.



However, despite its early start, Sidecar never obtained the popularity of rival rideshare providers such as Uber of Lyft, or of any of the numerous third-party delivery providers at retailers’ disposal. In addition, Paul and Khanna cited a “significant capital disadvantage.” According to TechCrunch, Sidecar only raised $35 million in venture capital funding, compared to $1.26 billion raised by Lyft and more than $10 billion raised by Uber.



The blog post suggests Sidecar will return in form, stating: “Today is a turning point for Sidecar as we prepare to end our ride and delivery service so we can work on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing.”



Whatever happens in the future, this current development should be carefully observed by retailers and third-party delivery providers. The third-party delivery provider market got crowded in 2015, and retailers like Starbucks and Amazon also moved ahead with proprietary delivery services.



Although the growth of mobile and online shopping this holiday season indicates consumers will likely continue to need more on-demand product delivery, it is not likely that the market can support all the third-party providers offering assistance. Expect more of a shakeup in 2016, with providers that have the most financial backing and the most innovative and reliable services still standing at year’s end.