Competing in the age of wicked fast delivery
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from Commerce Anywhere Blog.
Amazon announced one-hour delivery for Austin, so I had to give it a try. My daughter needs a larger camera bag, so I decided that would be a great item to order. You have to order via the PrimeNow mobile app and it offers a reduced set of available items, but I had no problem finding what I wanted. I waited until 8 a.m. to start my order, which took six minutes because I used my office address and had to verify my credit card.
Two-hour delivery is free, and one hour is $7.99. It also recommends a tip of $5.00. Between the delivery charge and tip, I guess they cover the cost. It might even be cheaper than two-day shipping, according an articled penned by RSR's Paula Rosenblum for Forbes. I chose the one-hour delivery and received a text message at 8:11 a.m. stating, "Your Amazon Prime Now order will arrive soon." Then at 8:21 a.m., I received a second text message stating, "Your Amazon Prime Now order has been delivered." Yep, it was delivered in 15 minutes.
You can see in the map that the DC is very close to my office, but it's still impressive how fast I got my order. I can definitely say I'll use the service again.
Retailers have the opportunity to offer similar services by partnering with delivery companies. The key is managing in-store inventory and the picking process. I expect to see this service from local stores in the next year.