Ahead of the holiday season, FedEx has expanded same-day delivery service to 1,800 cities in 30 regional markets through its FedEx Office division. The deliveries are made by uniformed FedEx drivers in branded vehicles, and the service includes a mobile app to track delivery status including alerts on estimated arrival time.
FedEx said same-day delivery is the fastest growing local shipping option for its customers. This is an expansion of a service first offered in 2016 which covered 20 regional domestic markets. Amazon offers Prime Now same-day service in about 40 markets for Prime members, but is limited to about 25,000 products.
Amazon is reportedly testing a new service in which it will handle deliveries from merchant shippers’ warehouses, which would lessen its reliance on UPS and FedEx and free up space in its own facilities. Deliv meanwhile recently expanded its crowdsourced same-day delivery services to 1,400 U.S. cities in 33 markets, up from 19 previously, allowing retail customers like Macy’s and Best Buy to offer it in more locations.
The FedEx same-day service includes priority (seven days a week, pickup and delivery in as little as two hours); standard (pickup and delivery in four hours, Monday-Friday; economy (Monday-Friday, delivery by end of day); and route service (custom, same-day service for regular pickup and deliveries at multiple locations). Packages weighing 51 lbs. or more are charged by the pound.
“Whether a customer made an online purchase for a special occasion, or a healthcare company needs to provide patients with critical medication and supplies, FedEx SameDay City can fulfill their need by delivering across multiple zip codes in a given market,” said Brian Philips, CEO of FedEx Office in a release. “Continued market expansion allows FedEx SameDay City to deliver thousands of packages daily, for individuals, as well as big and small brands alike.”
The 30 markets now covered by FedEx’s same-day service include Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Worth; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Jacksonville; Los Angeles; Memphis; Miami; Minneapolis–St. Paul; Orange County, CA; Orlando; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Riverside, CA; Sacramento; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis; Tampa; and Washington, D.C.