Amazon's Global Acquisitions Mean Bigger Delivery Network

If there's any company that could spearhead and revolutionize where e-commerce is going regarding fast delivery, it would be Amazon. The e-retail leader has made huge strides with same-day delivery, even making it free. Now with Amazon's most recent business move, it is going beyond just free same-day delivery, but much more.

Retail Dive recently released an article discussing how Amazon's recent acquisitions and large asset investments indicate bigger plan for the retailer's future. Amazon has plans to wholly acquire French delivery company Colis Prive. Amazon already owns 25% of the company, therefore, an initiative had already begun with doing business there. In 2014, the retailer also acquired the right to purchase 4.2% of UK delivery company Yodel. Also, it purchased thousands of semitrailers in the US and contracted trucking companies to haul them.

When these types of acquisitions occur, it shows that Amazon could be after a global establishment of itsdelivery system. Since it's global, Amazon needs global delivery system to go right along with it. It is stretching itself to be able to handle delivering the way that Amazon wants to perform its' supply chain and logistics, not being dictating by large carriers' pricing, such as FedEx and UPS. The semitrailer expansion in the US makes sense as well, enabling transporting from its' numerous distribution centers. With 50 fulfillment centers added to its' fire power around the world within the last four years, one can only believe it is duplicating itself worldwide also.

“They have the opportunity to disrupt this market and generate a lot of revenue,” stated Colin Sebastian, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst, to the Seattle Times. With its' own delivery network for packages, the retailer will begin to give big name carriers a run for their money. Retail Dive mentioned how Amazon will control more of its' fulfillment costs, and as a result, it will begin to generate the savings in this area they are looking for.

Currently in the US, Amazon has been launching same-day delivery in multiple major US cities. Last year, Amazon rolled out free same-day delivery in 14 metropolitan cities the US, beginning with California cities in the Southland, including San Fernando Valley to Irvine, as well as the Redlands and Moreno Valley in the east. The others would be cities such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Washington DC as well.

Amazon may be seeking after performing its' own deliveries, yet currently it is also utilizing partners to deliver for them in some cities. Other retailers that aren't as robust as Amazon, can also partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to help them expand and offer same-day delivery as well. The Miami Courier has a number of retailers that it develops same-day solutions for, as well as quick implementation nationwide.

Reference: 1.12.16, www.retaildive.com, Daphne Howland, Amazon's acquisition of delivery company hints at larger ambitions

Convenient Shopping Helped Holiday Online Sales Grow

The holiday shopping season has come and gone, giving a lot of retailers hope for their online sales momentum going into the new year. Internet Retailer reported about how e-commerce sales went up this year by 20% between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. This shows that more and more shoppers are becoming more comfortable with the convenience of purchasing online.

The data was gathered by MasterCard Advisors and the company's findings was based on national US retail sales across all payments types between November 27th (Black Friday) and December 24th, right before Christmas. The article mentioned how lower gas prices helped with the sales increase. Also, part of the online sales increase can be attributed to consumers lacking time to shop in stores. In addition, they can buy a gift and have it delivered; however, the recipient can handle the return if they don't like the gift.

The National Retail Federation in October predicted that retail sales during November and December will grow 3.7% compared with 2014. On-store sales—which include online and mail-order catalogs, telephone sales and other direct-to-consumer sales that do not take place online—would grow by 6-8%. Also, an October NRF survey showed that online shopping would account for almost 50% of purchases this holiday season, and that consumers, on average, said 46% of their holiday shopping this year will be done online, up from 44.4% in 2014.

ComScore Inc. forecasted that online sales would be lower than the 20% increase this year. Therefore, consumers surprised businesses with how they came out and shopped online during the 2015 holiday season. There is a level of visibility that retailers have brought to the web that makes it easy for shoppers to research, compare and make the purchase that makes the most sense. Also, in-store pick up is helping department stores like Macy's transition its' customers from online into its' store. They can bypass long lines by simply ordering online, which again save times and adds convenience to the shopping process that customers want.

Online growth is still small in comparison with in-store sales. Sarah Quinlan, MasterCard Advisors’ senior vice president of market insights, stated in the article, “I don’t believe this kind of growth is sustainable, and I think we’ll see a return to more single-digit growth numbers after the first of the year. Even with the surge in online spending growth, it’s still only 10% of total retail sales during this holiday period, so the share is still not huge. Consumers are doing their homework online and not necessarily executing there."

Online business isn't a huge total of retail sales, yet it is a growing one, commanding the attention of companies to stay current with e-commerce. For example, Amazon, Google, and more are causing same-day delivery to become a staple service with online business because of more market segments it provides access to. Many shoppers, especially younger age groups, like the convenience of utilizing their tech gadgets to get online items delivered right to their front door or workplace.

As same-day delivery grows along with e-commerce, more companies will be inclined to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to perform the actual service for them. The Portland Courier implements same-day solutions for a variety of businesses nationwide, which is plus for retailers pursuing to compete online.

Reference: 12.28.15, www.internetretailer.com, Tracy Maple, Holiday e-commerce sales surge 20%

Shopping Getting Easier With Same-Day Delivery

There are alot of companies that have taken same-day delivery seriously, as the stakes get higher and higher to compete with Amazon. It may cost to dive into gives shoppers a same-day option; however, it's worth it. It's worth is now, but more importantly, it will be in the coming years. “People are getting more and more accustomed to getting what they want, when they want it,” said CEO and Founder Daphne Carmeli of Deliv, in a recent article by the New York Post. Deliv use to be known as just a delivery start-up company, now has the likes of Macy's as a same-day delivery partner, as well as a number of shopping mall retailers.

In 2013 right before the holiday season, Macy's launched same-day delivery in 8 major US cites: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, ,Seattle, New Jersey, Washington DC, and Chicago. Sister company Bloomingdale's also did as well, rolling out the service in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Chicago. Now, Macy's offers same-day delivery in multiple US markets, even more than retail leader Amazon.

Macy's is just one example of how companies are making shopping easier with same-day delivery. BestBuy is now testing same-day delivery, utilizing the help of Deliv also. During the recent holiday season, customers had Uber as an option for deliver same-day. Uber went from transporting people via to transporting gifts as well, via its' crowdsourcing approach. This is one of the companies transforming into a versatile delivery service that can meet the convenience shipping demands of customers, which is only going to grow.

The article mentioned that in this holiday season, shipping companies like Fedex experienced it's busiest peak holiday season ever. Amazon reached 1 billion shipped packages this year. Etsy ASAP and Roadie are among others that are shipping cargo and packages also. E-commerce sales amounted to roughly 300 billion this year. Online retail is expected to reach $500 billion by 2018. The reason is because more retail is being conducted from places by shoppers other than the store.

One third of purchases were made online and then picked up in store. This became huge this year and will only expand in 2016 by your standard brick-and-mortar retailers, even if they elect not to invest into same-day delivery for now. Yet, with the amount of advancements that Amazon is making, most big name retailers are following them in order to keep up. Amazon even implemented free same-day delivery this year in several major US cities. The retailer is also looking into building a 20-plane fleet to reduce its' delivery times.

As technology creates more avenues for shopping convenience, a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express will partner with more and more companies that desire to provide effortless shipping with same-day delivery. The New York Courier has a nationwide footprint for businesses that need same-day delivery solutions in major cities and the expertise to innovate also.

Reference: 12.27.15, www.nypost.com, Catherine Curan, Companies aim to make shopping even easier

Will Same-Day Delivery Work this Holiday Season?

When it is about getting a same-day delivery program to work during the holidays, it will take more than just a bunch of drivers getting packages and boxes to a shopper's front door. A retailer will have to have a number of pieces to the puzzle for same-day delivery to work this holiday season.

During this time of the year, the timeliness of your service is crucial, as online retail makes a big impression on shoppers when you can deliver quicker than the time frame that a retailer's same-day delivery is committed to be performed within. Some retailers have a same-day delivery with a guarantee of delivery by 6pm or 9pm. If a company can get their deliveries executed by the afternoon, shoppers will consider their same-day delivery experience to be more than they expected and help advertise their service. This may be advertising the old fashioned way, however, the results are what retailers are after. The holiday season is a time where retailers have to make it count for three months and gaining the upper hand with same-day delivery will allow them to capture more US markets.

Amazon is capturing more markets with free same-day delivery service in 16 US cities. Amazon is one big retailer that has poured multiple investments into implementing same-day delivery throughout the US. The retail leader launched free same-day delivery in 14 Los Angeles metropolitan cities earlier this year, and then, right before the holiday season began, expanded their free service to Chicago and Orlando. Amazon's simple $99 Prime membership programs include free same-day delivery for orders over $35.

BestBuy also began testing same-day delivery in San Francisco and surrounding areas prior to the holidays. The company has partnered with delivery provider Deliv to perform the actual deliveries. Deliv is a crowdsourcing model, which local drivers in close proximity can pick up and deliver online orders easily. This makes sense when the delivery aspect of same-day delivery is not your strong suit. It takes an effective logistical routing system and design to make the service work.

Kohl's is another retailers that add to its' same-day program in time for the holidays, expanding into San Francisco, the Bay Area and Chicago. Before Black Friday, its' same-day delivery program became available in Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn/Queens, Jersey, and Miami. This was an aggressive expansion plan for the service, showing that Kohl's is competing with Amazon, Macy's and others to win over those shoppers looking for a same-day delivery option.

With holiday shipping being a must for shoppers, having an alternative for them to get their online order fulfilled would be a versatile option for them. Store pick-up allows customers to either have their online order delivered same day, or they can have their item shipped to a local store for pick up. Another type of store pick-up option is to offer orders to be made online for direct store pick-up. You can simply go to the specific store you choose to pick it up from where it is available the same day.

It takes a lot of logistics for same-day delivery to work, with it being a fast service and there is little room for error, especially now. During the holiday stretch, any retailer looking to increase sales with a same-day service can partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to implement a sound program in a short period of time. The New York Courier has a national footprint and the expertise to develop a same-day solution that will last.

Will Retailers Charge For Same-Day Delivery?

It takes a lot of customers to not want same-day delivery to be a good option when they can't get to the store themselves.  The question is when shoppers do pursue to take advantage of the same-day service, do they like what they are being charged for it.  Online retail is forecasted to grow upward to $500 billion by 2018, therefore, shopping online will continue to be a source for revenue for retailers, yet will same-day delivery help make e-commerce more attractive to customers. 

The Denver Post recently discussed how customers like same-day delivery, but don't like paying the cost.  That is similar to any convenient item, such as the ATM, but there is a common need to use them.  Kozmos begin same-day delivery over a decade ago, but didn't have the wide use of technology to help throttle it's idea forward into a greater demand.  "I remember using Kozmo.com a decade ago," said Chicago TV producer C.J. Dugan in the article. "One night we ordered a tub of ice cream and the movie 'Pitch Black.' They showed up in about 30 minutes. ... It was before its time, I guess."  The desire is there for same-day delivery; it is the fee for the service that retailers have to pinpoint that will create the longevity success of it.

If free is what shoppers want, the only retailer coming close to offering free same-day delivery is Amazon.  What first started out in 14 Los Angeles metropolitan cities earlier this year, expanded to Chicago, Orlando and now is in 16 US markets.  "Over the past 18 to 24 months, Amazon has been pushing the bar.  If you're in retail, you have to step up to the new bar," said Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv in the Denver Post article.  Deliv is a crowdsourcing  delivery company that partners with retailers and malls to perform same-day delivery for them.

One of Deliv's biggest partners is Macy's offers same-day delivery is major US cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, Washington DC, Chicago, and New Jersey.  Macy's even has more markets offering the last-mile service than Amazon.  The retailer also has over 800 stores in which they can fulfill online orders from.  This makes Macy's one of th potential retailers that could really out do Amazone with its' same-day delivery models due to its' physical locations.

Macy's offers its' same-day delivery for $5 for orders over $99.  Amazon has been offering same-day delivery free for Prime members, which pay a $99 annual fee.  Shipping industry expert Satish Jindel stated in the report, "Retailers trying to compete with Amazon on the road Amazon created will always be at a disadvantage".  Free service is something that many retailers will have to strive for, in contrast to Amazon which is leading the pack.  Many retailers charge between $5 and $20 for their fast delivery service.

As the holiday season continues, shoppers are going to be given the option to have their online orders delivery same day.  Kohl's, BestBuy, Wal-Mart and more have all jumped into the same-day delivery race.  For retailers that are seeking to implement a fast delivery model, a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express can partner with them and meet the convenient demand that their shoppers have. The Miami Courier has a nationwide footprint, enabling it to service the largest of retailers and businesses. 

Reference: 11.29.15, www.denverpost.com, Mae Andersen, Everyone loves same-day delivery, until they have to pay