Amazon Expands Same-Day Delivery Into Baltimore and Miami

There's clearly no turning back for Amazon, as some e-retailers have done when it comes to same-day delivery. The retail giant is all in and makes it clear with its' latest move that expansion of the service will continue. Bloomsberg recently reported that Amazon has expanded its' same-day delivery program to Baltimore and Miami. The initial roll-out of the Prime Now service will be available in certain zip codes and then expand into more areas within both cities.

“Since launching, we’ve seen high demand on everything from essentials like water and paper towels to more surprising deliveries like getting a customer a hard-to-find, top-selling toy,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations said. Thousands of products are available from Amazon with the service, from electronics to your everyday shampoo and household products. With a number of items at customer's disposal, Amazon creates the volume needed to make consolidated deliveries profitable. This is the idea behind same-day delivery, which does requires economies of scale and the right demographics for it to really work.

For its' 40 million Prime members, Amazon's two-hour delivery will be free and one-hour delivery is $7.99. The membership is $99 annually, plus the additional charge for service. Other competitors prices for same-day delivery are similar. Google Express is $4.99 per order or customers can pay $10 per month and $95 per year. Wal-Mart's same-day service is a flat $10 fee, regardless of the customer's order. Macy's has fees of $5 per order over $99 and shoppers with smaller orders pay standard shipping plus $5. Newcomer Ace Hardware is testing the service, charging $5 bucks also.

Amazon's aggressive city expansion is no surprise. Late last year, the e-retailer launched same-day delivery in major US cities into its' same-day delivery program, including New York City, Dallas, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Atlanta. Baltimore was initially in the list, however, the launching appears to now be official. The article mentions that more cities are to come this year for Amazon as well.

Plans for retailer are strategic and vast, as Amazon pursues to stay ahead of competitors. It opened its' very first physical store location before the holiday season last year in Manhattan, New York as a small hub for same-day delivery from its' inventory and a location for shoppers to pick up online orders. Amazon also expanded same-day shipping in Vancouver and Toronto. Amazon.ca is competing there, namely against Wal-Mart Canada's free same-day service in Greater Toronto.

As the big retailer expands, other e-retailers and physical store retailers are following suit, jumping into same-day delivery to get their product moved. A same-day courier like A-1 Express is a viable partner to implement the service in any major US city. The Baltimore courier has a national footprint and utilizes the latest in courier technology as a platform for innovation for fast deliveries. Online retail will continue to grow. The competition will have to keep up and offer same-day delivery, or get left behind by retailers that can meet current shopping demands for convenience.

Reference: 3.19.15, www.bloomberg.com, Annie Massa, Amazon Expands Same-Day Delivery to Baltimore and Miami

Amazon Begins New Tax Deal, May Implement Same-Day Delivery

The largest online retailer in the world is no other than Amazon, and the pack is trying to follow their lead. Expansion for the online giant appears to be effortless, even in regards to the transition into state sales tax collections. As Amazon builds more distribution facilities in various states, the more tax collections begin. The latest tax deal for Amazon is now in Maryland.

Internet Retailer has reported Amazon has announced Maryland is the newest state it will begin collecting taxes in. The retail giant is planning to build a 1-million-square-feet distribution center in the city of Baltimore. As a result, taxes will begin to be extended to the residents of Maryland, which makes this the 15th state in the US for Amazon. It has not been disclosed when Amazon's distribution center will open, however, more than likely it will soon. The new facility will also bring an increase in employment to the area. Amazon expects to create over 1,000 jobs to operate their new facility. With a growing, yet slow economy, the new move will turn out to benefit Amazon and the state of Maryland.

This will be the company's first physical presence in Maryland. With adding this state to its' belt, Amazon will now have tax collections for over 50% of the US population. This is very large figure for the e-retailer to now be reaching. There is no telling what their business strategy is in the coming years ahead. Amazon will not be building the facility from the ground up. Instead, it is working toward building the facility on a former industrial property used by a General Motors Corporation plant in the port of Baltimore. This reaffirms that Amazon will not waste any time getting this facility built, as it continues to move at a pace its' competitors are having to keep up with.

Amazon may be new to the state, but not to the northeast region. Late last year, Connecticut was added to the list, in which Amazon agreed to make a $50 million investment to build a distribution center there. Virginia, Arizona and New Jersey were added in 2013 as well. In 2012, the retailer started collecting sales tax in Pennsylvania, California, Texas, and Massachusetts. Amazon will also begin new tax collections in Wisconsin on November 1st of this year. To date, Amazon has opened 40 distribution centers and 89 fulfillment centers worldwide.

At this pace, it appears Amazon will at some point be collecting sales tax in every state in the country. What that means is the company will probably have a physical presence in every state as well. With this level of reach that Amazon will have to their customers, it very well may be gearing up to provide same-day delivery nationwide. Large retailers such as eBay, Wal-Mart, Macy's, Target, Google, and more have all started testing and implementing same-day delivery in various US cities. Online retail is growing annually by 16% and may reach 17% this year. With this type of growth, having the ability to offer same-day delivery makes online purchasing even more attractive and convenient for shoppers.

It is clear that Amazon will have some form of delivery system to meet the needs of its' customers, especially having multiple distribution centers throughout the US. Amazon is more and more closer to their customers, therefore, same-day delivery would make sense. The e-retailer could partner with a Same-Day Courier such as A-1 Express to help it quickly implement a same-day delivery solution nationwide. This Baltimore Courier has a national footprint and a superior courier technology-based operation, enabling the courier to successfully offer same-day delivery on a large scale. This would be ideal for a well-known online retail company like Amazon, as it continues to rapidly expand its' market.

References: 10.25.13, Internet Retailer, Paul Demery, Amazon's New Tax State