Amazon Goes Subway For New York Same-Day Delivery

Courier ServiceExpansion is what Amazon knows a lot about when it comes to same-day delivery especially in New York City.  The retail giant launched same-day delivery there late last year.  As it looks for innovation to maximize delivery costs and to optimize their service model every step of the way, Amazon has now turned underground to give the subway a try.

The Financial Times recently reported Amazon is utilizing the subway as a means of delivery for it’s new Prime Now mobile app.  On the new app, shoppers can receive their orders the same day. In New York City, the subway clearly has a speed advantage over drivers that have to maneuver their way through traffic. It certainly fits the infrastructure of the big apple too.  An Amazon representative told the Financial Times, “In Manhattan, our folks bike, walk or use public transportation.  They only drive if the item is large like a flat screen TV.”  With Amazon’s pursuit of fast same-day delivery, using other subway systems in other cities will probably be used if successful.

Prime Now competes with other retailers for quick last-mile deliveries.  Prime Now program is available to Amazon Prime members for $99 and the one-hour delivery service is $7.99.  Amazon’s two-hour delivery is free.  Amazon offers tens of thousands of products for its’ customers, from toothpaste to electronics.  Pricing for the service is similar to many other front line competitors, such as Google, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, and Pet’s Mart.

Google Express has partnerships with big name retailers and delivers everyday products to shoppers.  Macy’s has partnered with Deliv to elevate its’ physical store and online sales, launching same-day delivery in several major US cities before last year’s holiday season.  Uber utilizes a crowdsourcing approach to create a fast, on-demand delivery system.  Also, Postmates uses its’ own delivery messengers to get shoppers what they ordered online in a hurry.

The retail giant has been launching the service in multiple major US cities within recent months.  Baltimore and Miami are the newest cities to experience Prime Now, which more are to follow this year.  Amazon made a big push to enter big city markets by rolling out the service in hopes of big holiday sales.

Many retailers have really engaged into the science of same-day delivery and the best method to execute it.  Amazon’s recent move shows a city’s demographic is going to impact how out-of-the-box a company can get with fast deliveries. Either way, retailers can pursue product delivery themselves or partner with a same-day courier like 1-800 Courier to do it for them.  The advantage of outsourcing to this New Jersey Courier is the scale of service that it can quickly implement nationwide.  Major cities have the volume to sustain the service and a nationwide courier like 1-800 Courier can provide the optimal logistic solutions for same-day delivery to thrive.


Reference:  5.11.15, www.ibtimes, Brianna Lee, Amazon Same-Day Deliveries Go Underground In New York City