The race for same-day delivery is as competitive as they come. Physical stores are looking for ways to get their sales up, and online is how they will do it. As they look at their web-based retailers, like Amazon and Google, it is becoming very clear that without e-commerce, the brick-and-mortar companies are going to eventually become a long-distance second option for making purchases. This is why same-day delivery has become so sought after for a number of large retailers.

In a recent report, Forbes discussed the same-day delivery race involving groceries and all of the big players trying to win first place in the online market. Amazon has its’ online grocery service, AmazonFresh, which rolled out in Seattle. It now has expanded to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Customers receive free same-day delivery for orders over $35. The online retailer is also building more and more strategically-located, fulfillment centers to get closer to their customers. Amazon knows that it can’t just be web-based. There has to be a level of physical reach to the customer to make a substantial profit and maintain the market.

Google is in the heat of the pack, as the retailer rolled out Google Shopping Express. It’s Google’s version of same-day delivery of food for a number of brick-and-mortar retailers like Walgreen’s and Target. What started last year in the Bay area, has now expanded to Los Angeles. As far as perishable groceries, product management director Tom Fallow stated, “it’s something we’re in the advanced stages of working on”. Perishables would be very attractive to shoppers; however, they must be delivered within a short time span.

The largest physical store retailer in the race is Wal-Mart and rightly so. Wal-Mart has at least 4,000 locations throughout the US and providing same-day delivery of their groceries makes sense. The company just entered its’ second market in Denver for its’ service “Wal-MarttoGo”. It includes customers being able to order online and pick up their order without having to get out of their vehicle. A Wal-Mart employee will pull the order and load the groceries for them. All the responses from those involved in the testing had on positive comments about the service. For Wal-Mart then, the issue will be the right pricing mix.

Also, the report mentioned an insightful statistic about retailers turning toward online to beef up their sales. Researcher Forrester predicts that 10% of US sales will stem from e-commerce by 2017. This stat shows that online retail can be a revenue generator and it’s no wonder so many companies are in the same-day delivery race. It’s the connecting bridge from online selling, to the customer.

Retailers, especially those that are web-based, can’t afford to not offer shoppers an online product with an optimal delivery system. A nationwide courier like A-1 Express can be just what a physical store retailer needs to improve their online delivery capacity. The Chicago Courier can implement a courier “last mile” solution quickly. Whether general items or groceries, A-1 Express can help physical retailers win the same-day delivery race.

Reference: 4.16.14, www.forbes.com, Jeff Bercovici, The Same-Day War: Amazon, Google And Walmart Race To Bring Your Groceries