Consumers have always been able to shop Amazon.com 24/7, outside of the odd outage, and now they have another reason to do so. The e-tail giant, with a big assist from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), is now going to offer Sunday delivery to Prime subscribers and others checking the free ground shipping option on orders over $35.
Sunday deliveries, which will first roll out in Los Angeles and New York on Nov. 17, will be expanded to Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix and other markets in 2014. Amazon plans to transport items to USPS facilities on Saturday evening or Sunday morning for delivery.
"The three big pieces of growth for us are selection, lower prices and speed," Dave Clark, Amazon's vice president of worldwide operations and customer service, told USA Today. "Adding an additional day is all about delivery speed."
"Delivery on a Sunday would be very compelling for consumers," Sucharita Mulpuru, senior analyst with Forrester Research, told The Wall Street Journal. "There are certainly people who decide not to make an order on a Friday because it won't get there until Monday."
A survey of over 5,700 on the NPR website showed nearly 82 percent have wished at some time in the past that they could order an item for delivery on Sunday.
- Amazon and the United States Postal Service Now Delivering Packages on Sunday, Making Every Day an Amazon Prime Delivery Day - Amazon.com
- Amazon to Begin Sunday Deliveries, With Post Office's Help - The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)
- Amazon to deliver on Sundays using Postal Service fleet - The Washington Post (tiered sub.)
- Amazon Taps Post Office For Sunday Deliveries; A Win-Win? - NPR