Five months after investing in two-day ecommerce delivery and returns service ShopRunner, UPS is partnering with the company, offering a year’s free subscription to the 47 million U.S. members of its UPS My Choice program.
ShopRunner gives its subscribers access to two-day shipping, returns and checkout at more than 100 retailers including Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, Chico’s and Kate Spade New York. UPS invested in the company in January. After the free trial ends, ShopRunner charges a $79 annual membership fee.
“MyChoice was developed to provide more control and convenience to consumers, regardless of who the retailer is,” said David Sisco, Global Strategy Director for UPS. “ShopRunner has a good base of members and partners with over 100 retailers including some high-end brands. Both MyChoice and ShopRunner subscribers are savvy online shoppers so it made sense to partner, bring benefits to both customer bases.”
UPS My Choice lets shoppers customize their deliveries and receive progress alerts, sign for a package in advance, set vacation holds or have a package rerouted to an alternate address such as office, a neighbor’s house or a UPS Access Point pickup location. They can also give the UPS driver instructions on where to leave the package.
Chris Milone, CMO of ShopRunner, said the co-promotion of the two programs is the first phase of an ongoing partnership. He said UPS My Choice members can login to sign up for the ShopRunner subscription.
“Other synergies we’re working on are things like improving the ability of our mutual customers to better track and control their deliveries,” Milone said. “We’re really excited about what comes next as we continue to innovate together.”
ShopRunner members can visit a retailer’s site and sign in to opt for its two-day delivery at checkout. They can also get free returns through the service.
“From a retailer perspective, we help them access our millions of members, and give them tools to help drive engagement when they arrive on their site,” said ShopRunner COO Stacey Bernhard. “We leverage customer data and share insights with our partners to help them grow their ecommerce business.”
Bernhard said ShopRunner analyzes customer data including preferences and shopping history to drive recommendations of it retail and brand partners and their products. She added retailers own the shopping experience as it’s all happening on their site through checkout, not through a marketplace.