Digging out a few more shovelfuls to deepen the Prime moat, Amazon is now offering same-day delivery for subscribers in 10 metro areas, who can shop retailers including PacSun, GNC, SuperDry and Diesel and either have the order delivered or picked up in store.
This is just the latest move in Amazon’s manifest destiny to own every aspect of ecommerce and the customer experience, from the click to the door and back again, as well as things like freight forwarding from Asia and express air with its own terminals and a leased fleet of jets.
Users of the vast Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) service, generally small-to-medium sellers, can also offer same-day and next-day delivery to Prime members under a program launched in April.
The last mile has become quite the battleground, with retailers and service providers striving to conquer its tricky, costly logistics through the use of algorithm-driven optimization tools, plugging into a growing army of gig workers as well as hundreds of larger and smaller carriers.
Amazon did say orders will arrive “as soon as that same day” from retailers under the new program, implying not all of them will or that it’s guaranteed. The service will be powered by Delivery Service Providers (DSPs), independent contractors in Amazon-branded vans and uniforms.
The initial 10 cities for the Amazon service are Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Seattle and Washington D.C., with more to follow. It’s interesting that New York, the biggest market in the country and often the launch pad for same-day services, is not among them.
In similar fashion, Amazon recently began testing same-day delivery from malls in Las Vegas and Chandler, AZ, as well as Tysons Corner, VA and the Houston area, using its gig-based Flex drivers, separate from the DSP model, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.
“The expansion of Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery to include beloved brands delivered directly from nearby retail locations is just another way we are offering customers even greater selection, at faster speeds,” said Sarah Mathew, director of Amazon Delivery Experience in a blog post. “We are excited to see this new model come to life and look forward to adding more brands, stores, and locations to the program.”
Amazon said Sur Le Table and 100% Pure will be added to the list of participating retailers in the coming months. The service is free for orders of $25 or more, and $2.99 per delivery if it doesn’t meet the threshold.
“We see high potential in our expanded seller partnership with Amazon, which includes delivery directly from select PacSun retail locations,” said Mimi Ruiz, vice president of ecommerce at PacSun, in the post. “This is one more way for us to offer our customers the styles they want and love, when they want them.”