Amazon Expands Free Same-Day Delivery to More Cities Nationwide

If you thought Amazon had delayed in their expansion of Same-Day Delivery, here comes more cities that the retail leader has launched into to further its' apparent nationwide objective. A recent report by Forbes announces that Amazon is adding 11 more major US cities to its' current same-day delivery program. This will brings Amazon's total service area to 27 cities nationwide thus far.

The new US cities that Amazon is expanding into includes Sacramento, Stockton, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Fresno, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tucson. Amazon has strategically selected these cities to go with, which is not solely based on market share. With same-day delivery, there are vital components necessary for the service to be successful, which currently are known only big cities have. The market has to have the right demographics in order to generate profit from volume. Also, big cities have the infrastructure to enable fast last-mile deliveries.

Amazon already has free same-day delivery in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Diego, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Orlando, and Atlanta. It also launched free same-day delivery last year in 14 metropolitan cities the US, starting with California cities. At this rate, Amazon is going to be offering an efficient same-day delivery program nationwide within a few years. More than likely, Amazon will implement same-day delivery in more cities as the holiday season get closer as well.

The retailer's Prime service is what is making the difference and showing to be the reason same-day delivery is thriving. "Prime was developed to make shopping on Amazon fast and convenient, and millions of members have used Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery to make their lives even easier,” said Amazon Vice President of Prime Greg Greeley. “We keep making Prime better, and as our operational capabilities grow, we will continue to invent and expand delivery options that customers love.”

Prime members will be able to get same-day service free in these cities for the same $35 qualifying order amount as the others. To attract more regular customers to join Prime, Amazon raised its' minimum order size from $35 to $49 to qualify for free two-day shipping. Customers have millions of items at their disposal to order from Amazon. Prime Now is even available for Prime members, in which they can order tens of thousands of essentials and gift items via native mobile apps and have them delivered within two hours, even restaurant deliveries as well.

For other retailers to compete, they are going to have to engage in same-day delivery to keep up with Amazon. Several e-retailers and physical store chains have opted to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express in order to offer same-day services too. The Charlotte Courier has the service footprint, courier expertise and technology to aid any retailer to establish the same-day delivery nationwide.

Reference: 4.8.16, www.forbes.com, Amit Chowdhry, Amazon Adds 11 More Cities To Same-Day Delivery Service

More Same-Day Grocery Delivery for Whole Foods

Grocery delivery services are growing day by day, as customers begin to become more comfortable with having their food products delivered. What adds to the value of grocery delivery is that is provides a high level of convenience. It saves customers time spending at the store, and the gas money it takes to driver there. Whole Foods is a supermarket chain that joined with Instacart in 2014 and found a successful niche in same-day grocery delivery, coupled with its already strong loyal customer base. It made sense to do it then, and it makes sense to expand now.

Whole Foods has announced it will be expanding its same-day grocery services via the mobile grocery shopping app Instacart. Internet Retailer reported that Whole Foods will be adding an unspecified number of markets in which it will offer same-day grocery delivery, in addition to its current 17 metro areas where the Instacart delivery option is being offered. The grocery retailer appears to be seeking to gain more of the online grocery market share, especially with e-retail based Amazon and Google positioning themselves to turn more fast grocery shoppers their way from physical supermarkets directly.

AmazonFresh has been at it for a while, especially mid-last year teaming up with the US Postal Service to deliver groceries in San Francisco, as well as 38 various zip codes in the area. It is also available in the companies hometown Seattle, Los Angeles and more. Google Express officially launched Same-Day Delivery of groceries last month, delivering produce, meat, eggs and other perishable goods in parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles also.

The article also discussed what Whole Foods' pricing is for same-day grocery services. Its' hour-window service cost a $5.99 fee, while its two-hour window service is $3.99. Short window times with the service tend to be fixed, being they're food and perishables, yet, the accuracy of delivery is more critical because it is food. Several supermarket chains that offer the service partner with an expert Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to perform the actual deliveries. The New York Courier functions at a fast pace and has a national footprint to meet client expansion demand quickly.

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta commented on the successful strides that Whole Foods is making partnering with them. He stated, “Instacart and Whole Foods Market share a mutual commitment to providing our customers with the easiest and most seamless grocery shopping experience possible. We look forward to continuing to innovate with Whole Foods Market in the services that we can bring to users.” This shows that Whole Foods is able to create the ominchannels it wants that is results in store food sales.

With the Instacart mobile app or website, Whole Foods is in big US markets such as Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C. and more. At the time of the announcement, the new expansion markets include Orange County, California, and Baltimore. Whole Foods has also been reaching out to more customers that are on the go via coupons. Just last month, Whole Foods launched online coupons through Instacart's mobile app as well.

Reference: 3.10.16, www.internetretailer.com, Matt Linder, Whole Foods expands delivery services with Instacart

Amazon Increases Minimum Order Amount for Free Delivery

Amazon is doing a lot of daring moves when is comes to revolutionizing the world of online retail. It doesn't take a genius to know that Amazon is after it all, and is desiring to become the leader in not only on the retail front, but on the delivery and order fulfillment front also. Yet, the latest shift by the retailer for minimum online purchases in order to get free delivery could have a mixed response from Prime members.

The Wall Street Journal discussed the recent announcement by Amazon entails raising its' minimum order size for non-Prime members from $35 to $49 to qualify for free shipping. For at least a decade, Amazon's minimum fee was $25 until 2013, which the retailer increased the amount to $35. The threshold increase could be used to steer regular customers into becoming Prime members, which pay an annual $99 fee and receive unlimited two-day shipping.

In response to the fee hike, Amazon didn’t offer much of an explanation, yet only stated that “from time to time, we review our shipping options.” With it still being early in the year, the retailer could be testing the non-Prime customer market to see how many will become Prime members. There is plenty of time prior to the last quarter for the holiday season to offer the right shipping options to retain Prime members and gain more. The question is how will customers respond to it.

Free shipping isn't the only option that Amazon is offering that is attracting shoppers. In recent years, the company has implemented Same-Day Delivery in a number of major US cities nationwide. Amazon has a stronger presence of same-day delivery more than it ever has before. Amazon provides same-day delivery in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Diego, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington DC, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Boston, and Atlanta. It also launched free same-day delivery last year in 14 metropolitan cities the US, starting with California cities.

Even abroad, Amazon is affirming its goal to expand its delivery capabilities. It is being reported that Amazon is planning to develop a global delivery network to compete in China. Online retail is growing in the US, yet it is climbing at an even faster pace there. E-commerce is forecasted to reach $1 trillion by 2020 in China, which is all the more reason why Amazon is establishing its' fees relative to minimum orders and delivery systems. In addition, Amazon has leading China online retailer Alibaba to wrestle with in that market as well.

The largest US e-retailer has done a host of business implementations to capitalize on its momentum online. With Amazon's price shift, other retailers will probably analyze their own minimum order amounts and shipping options. A number of businesses and retailers have partnered with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to create a delivery solution that will satisfy the need for fast delivery that shoppers demand also. The Los Angeles Courier can assist companies with fulfilling those orders, as the products per order increases, along with the minimum fee for free delivery.

Reference: 2.22.16, www.wsj.com, Greg Bensinger, Amazon Boosts Free-Shipping Minimum to $49, Elevating Prime Service

Nordstrom Shifts To More Online Selling, Same-Day Delivery Could Boost Sales

It takes a lot of e-commerce strength to take your online sales to a high level in today's market, especially with the way Amazon is spearheading many new business trends. Macy's is another retailer that has boosted online sales with Same-Day Delivery, as well as online order store pick up. Nordstrom has made several strategic moves to increase online sales; however, its' shares fell 30% last year, which tells the company it may be time to make a pivotal shift once more. From a recent article from Internet Retailer via Bloomberg News, the shift will have to do with online selling.

Chief financial officer Mike Koppel explained in the article what is hurting Nordstrom's bottom line. It has to do with the entire retail industry turning from running fleets of bricks-and-mortar stores to also selling their goods online. The article said, "He explained that the "old model"—big physical stores located mostly in malls—came with high fixed costs, but high leverage. In other words, you had to pour a lot of money into literal bricks and mortar to build stores and train staff, but once your sales reached a sort of break-even point, all the rest was gravy. In essence, the money from a banner sales year could flow straight down to the bottom line once those initial costs were paid for. And that became pretty easy to anticipate and plan against."

One benefit of online sales is that it comes with low fixed costs, but the price tag was high variable cost. His conclusion is that the more Nordstrom sells online, the more it has to shell out to pick, pack and deliver those goods. In his own words, Koppel stated as a result "business has been flattening in malls and growing in e-commerce, and so the two strong trends are impacting operating margins". It appears that Luxury retailer Michael Kors is having a similar issue, even mentioning in the article that e-commerce isn't as profitable as business at physical stores. Koppel said if there is "anyone out there" who has figured it out, because "we have a lot of work to do."

Nordstrom raised its' promotions in order to try and keep pace with Amazon. The robust e-retailer is making strides within the online retail industry that is puzzling a number of retailers on how they can compete. Amazon even has implemented same-day delivery in a number of major US cities nationwide. It provides same-day delivery in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Diego, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington DC, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Boston, and Atlanta. It also launched free same-day delivery last year in 14 metropolitan cities the US, starting with California cities, recently adding Orlando and Chicago as well.

To attract more customers and to establish a deeper loyalty with current Prime members, Amazon raised its' minimum order size for non-Prime members from $35 to $49 to qualify for free shipping. This threshold increase could be used to steer customers into becoming Prime members, which pay an annual $99 fee and receive unlimited two-day shipping. This is just one example of what innovative direction Nordstrom may have to go in to thrive online.

With the growth of same-day delivery in the US, partnering with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express may be the move to make for Nordstrom. The service will attract luxury apparel customers via more shopping convenience. The Chicago Courier has all the right delivery technology and courier expertise to compete online.

Reference: 3.14.16, www.internetretailer.com, Bloomberg News, E-commerce eats into Nordstrom’s profits, and that’s OK

Kate Spades Goes Online Store Pick Up, Could Same-Day Delivery Be Next?

With the direction that online retail is going, more and more companies are looking to capitalize on e-commerce, not just brick-and-mortar sales. The industry is expect to increase to $500 billion by 2018. One of the ways physical store companies and e-retailers are connecting omnichannels to create seamless sales between the web and the store is via online ordering/in-store pick up. Kate Spade appears to implementing the service to move forward to establish itself further online.

Internet Retailer recently reported that luxury apparel and accessories manufacturer Kate Spade is planning to launch a buy online, pick up in store service later this year. The fourth quarter numbers show all the reasons why Spade is deciding to make the huge strategic expansion move. It's net revenue last year went up 7.6% to $429.0 million, from $398.6 million the previous year. Sales from Kate Spade North America reached $371.3 million, up 13.7% from $326.7 million.

At the same time, sales from Kate Spade International of $52.1 million, down 13.3% from $60.1 million last year. Also, the retailer's net income went drastically down to $61.5 million, a 51.4% drop from $126.5 million the previous year. This means that Kate Spade is looking to make the necessary adjustments to boost net income. It's clear that retailers are seeking to do what it takes to capture more of the tech-based shoppers that demand more convenience online.

Online retail is on the rise and Kate Spade knows it. Within the article, Chief operating officer George Carrara said the company is looking to blur the lines between offline and online shopping as consumer preferences evolve. He stated, “We know that regardless of which (way) she actually transacts, whether that’s online or in a store, that that journey is increasingly starting in the online space, which is certainly advantageous to us in terms of our ability to tell great stories and build engagement in the online experience”.

Wal-Mart has several major US cities that it offers its version of in-store pick up service. Wal-MarttoGo allows customers to place their orders online and perform their own pick-up at select Wal-Mart stores. The customer simply is able to order online and pick up curbside from the designated store. The retail leader has its' hand in store pick-up, as well as offering Same-Day Delivery.

Kate Spade could go in this direction in the future, and a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express provides pick up and delivery services nationwide, especially with return items. The Pittsburgh Courier has the ability to partner with retailers to build their online presence and develop efficient courier logistic solutions, even for Kate Spade.

Reference: 3.7.16, www.internetretailer.com, Matt Linder, Kate Spade will launch buy online, pickup in store