It hasn't been an easy race for many e-retailers to keep up with Amazon, as the robust online company has outpaced many with its' marketing and distribution expertise. One of the areas Amazon began becoming very vocally aggressive about since last year was same-day delivery. From same-day delivery drone use to Sunday deliveries, Amazon is now withholding nothing. From it's latest major move, it's very clear that the Amazon and nationwide same-day delivery assumptions of many experts have been right all along.

Amazon has announced the expansion of same-day delivery in 6 major US cities. The "Get It Today" same-day service will be offered in New York City, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Washington DC and Philadelphia within the metro-populated city areas. The e-retailer will be offering a million eligible items beginning today. Seven days a week, all orders placed by noon will receive their online items the same day. Customers will have at their disposal numerous of products, including video games, movies, last-minute travel needs, fix-it needs, back-to-school supplies, baby wipes,electronics, and more.

Prime members will have the first good draw at a low price for the same-day service. For $5.99, members will be able to order all of the items they want. Non-prime customers can still get their items same day, yet their charge is $9.98 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item.

The same-day service will be easy for shoppers to get to on Amazon's site. Within the Amazon product selection, shoppers will have available a "Get It Today" filter, which shows all of the items that can be purchased and delivered same-day. Amazon also has "Get It Tomorrow" filter for millions of more items that can be delivered next day. Many customers want their online shopping to be quick and easy, especially when its' done via pad or smartphone. These site options by Amazon make for fast shopping, and is now backed with fast delivery.

Amazon appears to be very excited about the new roll-out and what it will ultimately offer its' customers. Greg Greeley, Vice president of Amazon Prime, stated in the report, "Imagine how much time you will save now that you can get sunscreen, memory cards, toothpaste, hit movies, text books and HDMI cables all delivered to your home in hours, seven days a week, in one order from Amazon. New convenient pricing also allows Prime members to fill up their same-day shopping cart with everything they may need for one low price. With more than a million eligible items, we aim to offer the largest same-day selection at the lowest price.”

The new expansion of same-day delivery may involve Amazon's new Firefly smartphone. Firefly has an element about the phone specific for Amazon.com shopping, which allows users to scan actual physical objects at retail stores and shop at the same time. It also recognizes almost 100 million objects via a visual database. Therefore, a shopper using Firefly can find an item in a physical store they are considering buying, phone-scan it and automatically see all the listings on Amazon.com for it. The flexibility then comes in when that customer can now order from Amazon, then "Get It Today" delivery and have it waiting at their door step before they get there.

With same-day delivery being so heavily pursued by Amazon, the heavyweight retailer could partner with a same-day courier service like A-1 Express to perform its' deliveries. The New York Courier has a nationwide footprint and utilizes the latest in courier technology that enables it to deliver fast.

References: 8.6.14, Yahoo Finances, Amazon Same-Day Delivery Expanding - “Get It Today” Available in Six More Cities