There is a lot of movement in the retail industry toward making same-day delivery a staple in service offerings.  It’s imperative for physical store and web-based retailers to implement a fast delivery option, which may be considered out-of-the box for some companies.  However, when big name Amazon, Google, Macy’s, and others continue to add same-day delivery to more and more cities, it is only a matter of time that businesses will have to follow their lead in order to stay competitive.

UK high-street retailer Argos is not waiting to jump into same-day delivery.  It has recently announced the launch of the service throughout the UK weeks before Black Friday is here.  Argos’ Fast Track delivery is its’ fast service which will used for 20,000 products this week.  The article mentioned how Argos’ flat fee of £3.95 undercuts Amazon’s Prime Now at £6.99 per order.  Amazon also only delivers in certain London postcodes and its’ service is £79 a year for its Prime scheme.

This is in large part to the robust growth of Amazon and Argos has to compete.  Sophie McCarthy, a retail analyst with Conlumino, commented in the article regarding Argos’ decision to roll out same-day delivery.  She stated, “This has the potential to be a serious game changer, not only for Argos, but for the wider UK retail market as retailers increasingly chase fulfillment as a competitive weapon.  There is no doubt that the introduction of a same-day delivery service for as little as £3.95 is going to be an expensive business for Argos, but the costs of it not competing on delivery are likely to be even higher – its last trading update revealed further sales declines as it struggled to evolve its traditional catalogue to fit the demands of the modern consumer.”

Indeed Amazon is going to continue to expand in the UK, globally and even in the US.  The retailer leader Amazon is also offering same-day delivery free in some cities in California, which included 14 Los Angeles metropolitan cities earlier this year.  Amazon’s same-day delivery is currently in the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Washington DC and in its’ hometown of Seattle.  Free delivery may not only be planned for these cities in the US, but also a model for service worldwide.

Argos definitely has a fight on its’ hands when it comes to facing Amazon in the UK.  So do retailers in the US as well.  To implement same-day delivery quickly in the US, a Same-Day Courier like 1-800 Couriercan help on a massive scale.  The Houston Courier has a national footprint and the expertise to build a fitting delivery program to optimally fulfill online orders.  A number of retailers that offer same-day delivery are partnering with a courier to do it for them, especially web-based ones.

Reference: 10.6.15, www.theguardian.com, Rebecca Smithers, Argos squares up to Amazon with same-day delivery across UK