There has not been a more competitive time for same-day delivery than right now.  Retail giants Google and Amazon are continually growing.  Robust Wal-Mart has same-day service in multiple cities, also in Canada.  Brick-and-mortar retailers like Petco and Ace Hardware joined in the race to move product.  Crowdsource-based Uber is transitioning beyond picking up people, into picking up packages, testing same-day delivery is several cities also.

The race continues to evolve, especially with the recent move by Deliv, making a huge impact on the actual delivery side of the service.  Deliv has officially bought WeDeliver, as it pursues to be the largest same-day delivery provider in the US.  WeDeliver was a huge competitor in the Chicago market, and now, Deliver essentially captures a good portion of control of the area.  Chicago is one of several major US cities that e-retailers and store retailers are establishing last-mile delivery services.

One of the big drivers for the acquisition is no other than Amazon.  Ingrid Bekkers, Deliv VP of Marketing, stated in the article, “Two-day delivery for retailers has become the norm, but retailers are feeling the need to respond to Amazon and its same-day delivery option”.  Amazon has made huge implementations, including roll out of same-day delivery in numerous cities, especially since last year.  Recently, the retailer has launched free same-day delivery in California and is planning to expand it into San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa Bay, Washington DC, and Atlanta.

Deliv’s presence is purposefully unseen, partnering with a number of malls and well-known retailers to perform deliveries for them.  Stores inside malls like FootLocker, utilize Deliv to offer shoppers a way to make their purchases online and have them delivered to their front door fast.  Macy’s is the most notable Deliv partnership thus far.  Beginning last year right before the holiday season, Macy’s aggressively launched same-day delivery in eight major US cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, New Jersey, and Seattle.  In addition, Bloomingdale’s launched the service in 4 of them:  San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Chicago.

E-retailers, physical store retailers and local merchants are all seeing the growing opportunity to sell their products by obtaining the capability to offer a fast, convenient service option.  A nationwide courier like 1-800 Courier has established itself as a leader in same-day delivery also.  The Chicago Courier has partnered with hundreds of companies to provide superior same-day delivery.  Shoppers are more and more comfortable with shopping online, making buying things very easy.  Retailers need a courier like 1-800 Courier to assist in shifting into on-demand delivery.

Reference:  6.24.15, Al Urbanski, Same-Day Deliverer Expands in Chicago