It wasn’t but a few weeks ago that Amazon touted about it’s new physical location in Manhattan to assist customers with online orders and to also house a limited amount of inventory to satisfy same-day delivery. Now, Amazon expands again, yet this time it is just across the border.
Canada’s The Globe and Mail recently reported that Amazon expanded again, announcing its’ launch of same-day shipping in Vancouver and Toronto. Amazon.ca is establishing the premium service in efforts to compete against Wal-Mart Canada’s free same-day service in Greater Toronto. Within the last two years, Amazon has added more products, categories and services also. The new roll-out comes right before doors literally begin to open for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Kaan Yigit, president of Solutions Research Group, weighed in with input on Amazon’s expansion of same-day delivery in Canada, touching on what it could do for Amazon there. He stated the new Amazon service could increase volume and order frequency, as Wal-Mart’s service is helping it “start gaining on Amazon…” added Yigit. Wal-Mart has quietly jumped into same-day delivery and has a number of major US cities in which it offers the service. With its’ large source of retail locations to act as distribution points, it makes sense for the robust retailer to join in. Wal-Mart is even offering same-day service for free there, which could be alluding to it toying with this idea in other cities as well.
Amazon wants to stay ahead of the pack and which is probably the reason for so much expansion. Amazon just added 7 more major US cities into its’ same-day delivery program, consisting of New York City, Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Atlanta. The web-based retailer has multiple distribution centers strategically throughout the US to fulfill online orders, making same-day delivery nationwide for company attainable. To help the service, Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos even shared last year Amazon’s pursuit of implementing same-day delivery drones.
“It’s all about convenience,” stated Alexandre Gagnon, country manager for Amazon.ca, in a telephone interview from Seattle in regards to Amazon’s expansion of same-day delivery. “We know that people who shop online at times may want the items faster.” The same-day service will allow customers that place their orders by noon to receive their packages before 9pm the same day, seven days a week. The article stated that Amazon will offer one million “eligible” items in Toronto and “hundreds of thousands” in Vancouver, including toys, video games, electronics and household necessities.
Canada Post’s research in 2012 showed 10 to 15 percent of online shoppers said that they would use same-day shipping for some items, said Post General Manager Rod Hart. In Canada and in the US, there is indeed a market for the service. A same-day courier like 1-800 Courier can assist any retailer roll out a fast delivery program. Same-day delivery is here to stay and big retailers know it. As the the holiday shopping season begins, the Chicago courier could be an asset for physical stores to expand and compete.
