eBay Now pulled from App Store, its functionality to be folded into main iOS app

eBay

You may have noticed that the official eBay Now shopping software for the iPhone and iPad has been pulled from the App Store over the weekend. Attempting to download the app yields an error message confirming the removal.

eBay Now allowed users to find and buy various products from local stores. This particular app removal has nothing to do with Apple, mind you.

According to TechCrunch on Monday, the e-commerce website is planning to fold eBay Now functionality into its main iOS client as the Now service is “moving to core” and the company rethinks its same-day delivery plans.

The Ebay Now app previously allowed you to shop from your iPhone with same-day delivery from nearby retailers for an additional $5 fee.

The e-commerce giant reportedly pulled the app amid broader changes being mulled as the company has reportedly deemed running own same-day delivery service too pricey.

eBay launched the Now service in San Francisco in 2012 and has gradually expanded it into San Jose, the Bay Area Peninsula, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Dallas and Chicago. Reuters wrote last week that eBay will be focusing more on expanding additional logistics options to smaller merchants going forward.

An eBay spokesperson told TechCrunch that the eBay Now service is “moving to core,” meaning it’ll no longer exist as a standalone application and instead will be “folded into eBay’s main mobile app and website.”

eBay Now (iPhone screenshot 001)

Indeed: back in September 2014 the main eBay app for the iPhone and iPad was refreshed with Now features, including the ability to search for and buy products from local stores and have them delivered to you in 1-2 hours (available in select locations).

At post time, eBay Now was alive and accessible online. eBay hasn’t been operating its own fleet of drivers and delivery vehicles since it acquired Shutl, a U.K.-based same-day delivery startup.

Recode recently reported that eBay Now may be next on the chopping block because most shoppers want same-day delivery for groceries, which is “not really the sweet spot for eBay.”

[TechCrunch]