Tesco Seeks to Compete with AmazonFresh, Goes Same-Day Grocery Services

It's not about which retailer will surpass Amazon, but who are the ones that can at least keep up with it. The US e-retail leader is not only having competitors dig deep to keep market share in the US, it is happening abroad as well. In the UK, supermarket giant Sainsbury just launched an initiative in July to offer same-day grocery delivery in 30 ares in England before year's end. Now, it appears store chain Tesco is right behind them with a same-day service of its' own to defend off Amazon Fresh from luring its' customer base away.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Tesco will be rolling out a same day ‘click and collect’ service for groceries from 300 stores throughout the UK. With this many stores, Tesco should generate the volume it takes to make the service work. Scale is vital with any same-day service, as the volume will ultimately make it worth while. For all orders placed by 1pm, shoppers will be able to pick up from their local store after 4pm the same day. The cost of the service will be £2 for a two-hour collection slot from Monday to Thursday, and £3 for slots on Friday or Saturday. Another option regarding Tesco's click and collect is that customers can either choose a 4pm to 6pm, or 6pm to 8pm collection window slot for all six days.

"We know time is valuable to our customers and they expect more convenience and choice than ever before in how, when and where they do their grocery shopping", Tesco said in the article. The retailer also said relative to service convenience, "Our same day grocery click-and-collect service is available at nearly 300 stores across the UK and means our customers can get their shopping at a time and location that is convenient for them." As shoppers have become more comfortable and secure with online purchasing, retailers now seek to position their stores so customers can buy right where they are. Whether they are at the coffee shop, or at home, they can utilize their mobile device to buy online and them pick it up from a retail store.

In today's market, shoppers are also trending to use Same-Day Delivery to have their online items dropped off at their front door. This is what Amazon has established in the 27 markets in the US, including hometown Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Charlotte, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Richmond, Orlando, and many more. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has launched same-day grocery delivery in a few major US cities to begin with in the last recent months. It makes sense for any grocery store retailer to offer same-day delivery, as shoppers have a constant demand for food products and would enjoy not have to leave their home to get dinner.

Tesco's competitor, Sainsbury, announced launching a same-day grocery delivery program that will span over 30 areas in England by Christmas of this year. When the grocery store chain use to only provide grocery next-day delivery as an option, now its' customers can get their products the same day. Same-day grocery delivery will be offered for orders placed online by noon, and will be dropped off by 6pm that day. Like Tesco, Sainsbury will have a pick-up option that will be ready to pick up from 4pm as well .

As other companies are doing, Tesco is implementing this strategy to stay competitive with new Amazon Fresh, which offers same day delivery on 130,000 goods. It takes an established system to optimally delivery that many online items per day. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express can partner with any grocery store chain or e-based retailer that wants same-day delivery to become a staple service. from their operation. The Houston Courier has the national footprint and logistical expertise to develop a variety of same-day solutions for any company to grow their business and compete with Amazon.

Reference: 8.24.16, www.dailymailcom, Sean Poulter, Tesco is to offer a same day ‘click and collect’ service for groceries as it moves to fight off threat from Amazon

Amazon's Prime Day Sales Up, Shoppers Probably Used Same-Day Delivery

It is going to take a lot for retailers to outpace Amazon online. It's most recent initiative shows why the web-based e-retailer is spearheading the strategies that make today's e-commerce work.

Amazon's Prime Day was held earlier this week and the results from the big online sales campaign were successful. Internet Retailer discussed how Amazon captured online purchases from roughly 46 million Americans on Tuesday. Per Forrest Research, there are an estimated 244 million online shoppers in the US. Based on the numbers Internet Retailer estimated that Amazon had a $50 per average order value on Prime Day, which amounted to $2.32 billion in online transactions. This is a staggering number in comparison with other big name retailers that attempted to compete and marketed online sales of their own, like Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Target

Amazon Prime Day was the retailers biggest sales day in history. The article mentioned sales worldwide went up 60% and up 50% in the US. This affirms that more and more shoppers have become comfortable with making online purchases. Besides the benefit of online prices are usually lower than in stores, it keeps money in your wallet by eliminating any travel costs. With Same-Day Delivery, Amazon, Google, and others enable customers to get their online items just as fast as if they went to pick it up themselves.

Amazon is fully vested into the trendy service. In fact, its same-day delivery service is free for Prime members, which they probably utilized as a shipping option a few days ago. Earlier this year, Amazon expanded its' free Prime Now into more major US cities, bringing its' total service areas to 27, including San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Richmond, Orlando, and many more. Last-mile deliveries aids retailers to move product via web stores, creating the ease of buying online that shoppers like, especially when they have a peace of mind regarding the reliability of your service like Amazon has created.

For Prime Day, consumers were fairly pleased with what Amazon, as 52.8% of consumers rated their shopping experience as excellent. Some 38.9% described it as good and 8.3% rated it fair. None of the shoppers surveyed rated their experience poor, which speaks volumes to the satisfaction that Amazon provides. Out of an Internet Retailer survey of 191 online shopper the following day of Prime Day, 19.4% of the respondents stated that they made a purchase from Amazon. Its' conversion rate for those that visited Amazon.com was 46%, in comparison to an industry rate of 3%.

As Amazon continues to dominant online, more retailers are beginning to re-position and shift the way they do business online. If membership programs and same-day delivery are successful for Amazon, maybe they should do it also. To offer same-day delivery, A-1 Express is a Same-Day Courier that can develop optimal same-day logistic solutions quickly nationwide. The Houston Courier has the delivery expertise and the latest in courier technology to create the online shipping options that shoppers demand.

Reference: 7.13.16, www.internetretailer, Stefany Zaroban, 46 million Americans bought something on Amazon during Prime Day

Will EBay Turn From Same-Day Delivery?

It's eBay and a few other e-retail giants that all started a hot pursuit for same-day delivery. However, eBay could be turning away from it. Yahoo Finance discussed how eBay isn't interested in the sought-after service any longer.

EBay acquired UK-based delivery start up Shutl late last year with growth plans to oversee its same-day operation, but not to perform its US city deliveries. However, in December last year, eBay pulled it's same-day service eBay Now and officially pulled eBay Now from the app store. The app allowed mobile customers to shop with it from local retailers and have their online purchases delivered same day for $5. The e-retailer was planning to integrate the stand alone app within eBay’s main mobile app and website instead. Now, eBay may have decided to pull away from same-day delivery altogether, rethinking what model really works for it.

Now, eBay has signed a deal with Woolworths in Australia, where eBay shoppers can make a purchase on its' site and then pick up the goods from Woolworths supermarkets. The article mentions how this is not the first time for eBay, partnering in a similar way with Argos in the UK. This could be a pattern to come for eBay within the US. One reason for the shift is eBay feels customers will buy in to faster delivery without paying for shipping. It also believes this model is beneficial for returning defective items directly to a physical store, instead of eBay.

The report revealed stats suggesting that customers are indeed more interested in free shipping than same-day delivery. A Harris Interactive survey of 2,241 US adults shows that 70% of consumers don't want to pay extra for overnight or same-day delivery. This could mean customers are more apt to simply go to the local store and pick it up, rather than pay to get their online purchases quicker. Shoppers without the time to pick up, can also turn to a same-day courier like A-1Express to perform same-day delivery and return items to stores for them.

Some of the best outfits for same-day delivery are physical store retailers implementing same-day delivery themselves. Wal-Mart has same-day delivery in a number of major US cities. Wal-Mart's "Wal-Mart To Go" is also in Canada. Regarding pricing to compete with heavy hitter Amazon, the retail leader even has opted to offer same-day service free in some Canadian areas to attract enough shoppers to gain a good share of the market. Macy's and Bloomingdale's have launched same-day delivery in 8 major US cities. Petco has also joined up with Instacart to perform same-day deliveries of pet items also.

Amazon has put in its' share of investment into the service. As a web-based retailer, it has built more than 50 fulfillment centers nationwide, which act as its own locations for distributing same-day. It opened its very first physical store location in Manhattan, New York last year before the holiday season. The location is being utilized for same-day delivery and online customer store pick ups. Being as close to shoppers as one can get could be the long-term objective for Amazon.

As eBay shuffles into its optimum model for quick deliveries, Google and Amazon continue to expand same-day delivery. Other physical store retailers will continue to at least test the service to see if it will pick up their sales, especially with mall retailers. A-1 Express is a Houston courier with a nationwide footprint, able to partner with any web-based or store retailer seeking after last-mile deliveries to meet their online shopper demand.

Reference: 3.9.15, Yahoo Finance, Patricia Garner, Why eBay is not interested in same-day delivery

Macy's Joins In, Launches Same-Day Delivery

When you see a lot of others retailers make same-day delivery a part of their arsenal to compete, you definitely take notice. When the service becomes more than just a trend and multiple investments be made by large retailers, you know then its' time to join the race and see how the service can revolutionize your own business. Macy's is one large retailer that has decided to dive into the service and it appears the company is going head first into same-day delivery.

CNN Money has reported that Macy's will be launching same-day delivery this fall in a number of major US cities, as the battle for fast shipping gets even more intense. Macy's first roll-out of cities will include Chicago, San Jose, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, D.C. and New Jersey. With the established physical store locations Macy's has, it can implement a service such a same-day delivery fairly with ease, instead of just one or two cities. With the big moves by Amazon, Google, Wal-mart, and more, same-day delivery appears to be something Macy's wants to immediately offer, especially right before the holiday season. New York City has yet to be announced as a city that Macy's will offer same-day delivery, however, the big apple may come down the line.

Macy's same-day delivery approach involves partnering with Deliv to handle its' actual deliveries, which does the same for Foot Locker, Westfield Group, and General Growth Properties. It also now offers online store pick up to its' shoppers nationwide. This is another convenience that shoppers have turned to, which considerably lowers the wait time for what they've purchased online and the time spent in the actual store. Some customers will now be able to go the Macy's, pick up their clothing and go. Macy's will also soon provide shoppers upload photo capabilities to an app that match the clothes on their website, plus in some places, check for different sizes and colors.

Experts have thought Macy's would be one of the best fits for same-day delivery. The company has the longevity of demand that has resulted in the brand and popularity most retailers dream of having. Many shoppers know of Macy's and loves it. With this in mind, Macy's alone can draw online shoppers to not only go into their stores, yet also stay at home and allow the premier clothing be shipped to their front door for a change. That's what same-day delivery does and Macy's knows it. Bloomingdale's will begin offering same-day delivery in a number of the cities as well.

If any other company that could compete with Amazon regarding same-day delivery, some experts have said Macy's could do it. The retailer has numerous locations which can act as actual warehouses and order fulfillment centers for online purchases. This is why Amazon has built its' fulfillment centers strategically located nationwide to meet the goal of what it was planning to reach for a while. Now, same-day delivery is what Amazon is rolling out in major US cities, which since August, headed eastward to include New York City, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Dallas, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.

After seeing what Amazon has done, Macy's feels it has become inevitable that same-day delivery would be a necessary service to compete. Physical store and web-based retailers can implement same-day delivery by partnering with a same-day courier like A-1 Express. The Houston Courier has a nationwide footprint to be able to offer large and small retailers the delivery system to provide same-day delivery. If Macy's has now turned to same-day delivery, multiple retailers will now begin to launch same-day delivery also.

Reference: 9.15.14, CNN Money, Melvin Backman, Macy's, Bloomingdales to offer same-day delivery