Delivery start-ups abound, but will they succeed?

Delivery is the latest fad to take the startup industry by storm, with new services springing up every day. Businesses are banking on Americans' busy schedules and desire for efficiency to drive the demand for to-your-doorstep deliveries. 

One of the latest companies to expand to multiple cities is Boston-based Drizly, an app that allows customers to order alcohol remotely. The company currently has $4.8 million in investment funding and employs 20 full-time employees. 

On Wednesday, co-founder and CEO Nick Rellas announced Drizly's release of its new desktop-based website that allows customers to order from their computer in addition to their mobile app. 

"Having the best customer service means offering the convenience of a multi-screen experience," Rellas tells the Boston Business Journal. "By offering the Drizly experience through a Web browser, we are also making life easier for the hundreds of corporate customers that use Drizly for office parties and functions." 

Rellas also confirmed that the company's app was experiencing downloads in the hundreds of thousands and that prospects for long-term expansion are looking positive. 

The list of delivery services and companies that Americans have to choose from is growing by the day. Customers in San Francisco, for instance, can order flowers from BloomThat, a personal masseuse from Unwind Me and someone to do their laundry from Washio. There is even a business specializing in the delivery of medical marijuana to people who cannot, or don't want to, pick it up in person. 

Critics of the delivery movement say it's inevitable that the bubble will burst sometime in the near future. Whether or not the trend maintains its allure for consumers will probably depend on the ability of companies to offer reliable, accurate, timely and friendly deliveries, all of which factors are crucial for a business to succeed in the industry.