Nordstrom's Accelerated Building of Outlet Stores May Help Same-Day Deliveries

So many brick-and-mortar retailers right now are very intent on implementing a strategy to reach their respective online markets. Nordstrom's is just one of those companies currently testing in California area markets with EBay to provide same-day delivery of its' products. Same-day delivery is actually nothing new for Nordstrom's, however, having outlet stores is and the company is moving strategically forward in this direction.

Last week Nordstrom's released news that the company will begin the accelerate its' plans to build Rack outlet stores. Their second quarter net income decreased by 11% during the second quarter due to the postponing of their biggest sales event. Their sales did rise by 7.4%. It appears Nordstrom's is saving the big guns for later this year and could very well have to do with their outlet store building strategy.

Does the outlet store strategy have anything to do with competing with online retail via same-day delivery? Well, the more physical locations Nordstrom's has, the better equipped operationally to handled online order fulfillment. Amazon knows this very well with their initiative to add 8 more warehouses to their list of this year alone to accommodate their massive volume of online orders. The world's largest online retail appears to be very serious about the ability to quickly meet online demand. It would not be surprising this is one reason Nordstrom's has outlet stores in mind.

Nordstrom's is in the online e-commerce race with Macy's, Target and other retailers. The company began same-day delivery last year, showing their online products could be delivered within hours. For just $15, online customers can have their product delivered the same day. Any orders placed after 1pm, however, are delivered the following day.

Whether Nordstrom's outlet store plans have to do with being more logistically efficient for online retail or not, the company certainly knows same-day delivery is highly desired by shoppers today. Courier services like A1Express can assist businesses with delivery of their online products and obtain the competitive advantage they need. Nordstrom's has even utilized the large Atlanta courier to help with various same-day deliveries to meet the needs of their customers. Couriers can easily assist Nordstrom's with deliveries from their future outlet stores to come.

References: Washington Post, Associated Press, 8.9.12-Nordstrom raises full-year profit guidance; boosts expansion pace for Rack chain