Worldpay is testing out a proof of concept that ties together payment verification with residential drone delivery via a special landing pad that doubles as a payment information communication system.
Kroger, demonstrating why it is a force to be reckoned with in e-grocery, is now offering same-day delivery in five markets, while also testing out self-driving delivery in a Phoenix pilot and creating automated distribution centers with partner Ocado.
The “Amazon Effect” notwithstanding, there is one area of ecommerce where online sellers can still compete with, maybe even beat, Amazon and others: Oversized delivery. Learn what steps you can take to exceed customer expectations in the last mile and become a leader in bulky, oversized fulfillment.
Less than a year into a pilot program that had employees making local deliveries of online orders, Walmart in January all but quashed the program quietly as associate buy-in wasn’t happening. See how it’s still happening at one Georgia store, and other ways Walmart is working to figure out local fulfillment of ecommerce orders.
BoxLock, a smart lock startup, is aiming to address the growing problem of porch piracy by securing ecommerce deliveries through barcode scanning by parcel carriers. It went live on Prime Day and is exclusive to Prime members but that’s bound to change as the solution catches on.
Flexing its Whole Foods Market muscles, Amazon announced an expansion of same-day grocery delivery in New York and three cities in Florida, after Walmart’s Jet.com and FreshDirect both announced plans for fulfillment centers in the Bronx, NY.
Flytrex, an Israeli company that developed a control system for automatic drone flight, may soon be helping deliver food to residents of a North Carolina town as one of 10 FAA-sanctioned test projects. As the first company to launch commercial drone delivery in Iceland, Flytrex is looking to expand the service to other countries.
Following similar moves by FedEx, Amazon and Jet.com, UPS is piloting deliveries to multi-unit New York dwellings when residents are absent, in partnership with smart lock maker Latch. Preliminary tests began in Manhattan earlier this year and have now expanded to Brooklyn.
XPO Logistics has added an augmented reality app to its last-mile delivery service that lets shoppers visualize a piece in their living space before having it installed, with a view to cutting down on returns for its retail customers and improving the overall experience.
As the battle heats up for same-day grocery delivery in urban markets, Jet.com is opening a new fulfillment center this fall in the Bronx, NY to service New York City customers with not only food in a flash but other merchandise as well. See what other players are up to in the hyper-competitive market.