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Amazon.com is testing a new program that leverages its Flex gig economy driver network to bring deliveries to consumers' doorsteps from malls.
Amazon is testing the program with participating retailers at a few malls in Las Vegas, Virginia and Texas, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.
Consumers who want same-day or faster shipping are shown locally available products. Once the item is ordered from the retailer through Amazon, one of its drivers deliver it.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC a handful of “existing Amazon sellers” are participating in the program. Flex drivers operate as normal, but retrieve orders from mall-based stores rather than Amazon delivery stations or supermarkets.
“We have been delivering from third-party stores for years,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “This is another way we are able to connect Amazon sellers with customers via convenient delivery options.”
Bloomberg said, “The program, should it become a permanent part of the e-commerce giant’s delivery options, could help Amazon expand the variety of goods it has available for fast shipment.”
Amazon launched its Flex gig delivery service for its own orders in 2015 and Delivery Service Partner, which uses contractors driving Amazon Prime vans, in 2019. In early 2021, Amazon confirmed that the majority of orders from its platform were delivered internally.
Amazon stocks its own urban warehouses with merchandise from select third-party retailers to support fast delivery. In April, it launched Buy With Prime, which enables third-party retailers to tap Amazon’s shipping and fulfillment network for orders placed on their own site.
Amazon’s push into same-day mall delivery could pressure the leading on-demand delivery providers like DoorDash, Uber’s Postmates and Instacart. Instacart has added a wide range of non-grocery retailers, including Sephora, Best Buy, Staples, Walgreens and Dick’s Sporting Goods, over the last two years. DoorDash, with roots in fast-food delivery, has partnered with Macy’s and JC Penney.
Among bigger competitors, Target acquired Shipt in 2018 and Walmart last August launched GoLocal, an in-house delivery service with Home Depot, Chico's FAS and Kelly-Moore Paint among its outside clients.
In May 2020, Deliv, which had offered a same-day service to mall shoppers, shut down with Target acquiring Deliv's technology assets.
- Amazon Is Using Gig Economy Drivers to Deliver From Malls – Bloomberg
- Amazon tests using Flex drivers to make mall deliveries – CNBC
- Amazon brings Prime power to other websites – RetailWire
- Amazon’s surprising new delivery partners: Rural mom-and-pop shops – Vox
- Do retailers have to catch up to Amazon’s logistics powerhouse? – RetailWire
- Amazon brings Prime power to other websites – RetailWire
- Target to acquire same-day delivery tech from Deliv – TechCrunch