Google Launches Same-Day Delivery in New York

Amazon may have a great deal of online market share, but Google isn't going away. The e-retailer is showing that it has a strategy of it's own to get more customers to shop via Google Express, especially as the holiday season approaches. Google is taking its' delivery program to the big apple--New York.

Google has announced that Google Express will be launched in New York, partnering with big name retailers, including Costco, Kohl's, Whole Foods, and PetSmart. Nearly 70 million people in over a dozen states nationwide, including the tri-state areas, will now be able to order online from their mobile devices to have Google Express provide Same-Day Delivery right to their door step. Technology is driving the ingenuity being created by retailers, enabling seamless omnichannels between web and storefront. Shoppers search often online for discounts and more, and when the right deals come along, they make their purchase. With technology, now shoppers can utilize their smartphone and buy virtually from wherever they are.

It makes a difference when a large grocery chain like Whole Foods can not only buy and sell in-store, but they can offer the value-added service of bringing their groceries conveniently to the homes of shoppers. Online shopping expert Michelle Madhok talked about the same-day service, stating that Google Express has "...a number of items you can order via Google and Google Express and have it delivered in under an hour. Depending on the item, some will take a little longer, but you can click 'get this today".

Shoppers will be able to pay either a per-order fee or an annual fee for the service. Like Amazon, Google Express offers a subscription program, which members will pay $95 a year, versus Amazon Prime at $99. The subscription fee helps with the overall costs involved with massive programs such as these, and for both retailers and shoppers, it appears to be well worth it. Wal-Mart is currently testing its' pilot program, ShippingPass, with an annual membership fee of only $49 with the option of free next-day delivery, as well as those that have paid their fee will receive a free additional month as a promotional tool. Wal-Mart.com will have a logo next to the products in which the ShippingPass service can be utilized.

Google may be launching in New York, yet it has its' work cut out with how Amazon continues to expand same-day delivery at a rapid pace. Amazon has free same-day delivery in a total of 27 major US cities throughout the US, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Diego, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Boston, Tampa Bay, Baltimore,Washington DC, Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, Richmond, Tucson, Cincinnati, and more. This week, Amazon announced its' expansion into Canada, launching free same-day delivery in Toronto and Vancouver. At this rate, Amazon will be delivering within hours all over North America.

Google and physical store retailers both have same idea, which is to ship their store items to customers and use same-day delivery to do it. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express is who retailers and other companies can partner with to launch same-day delivery programs to grow their business online. The Portland Courier has to courier expertise and technology to quickly implement last-mile deliveries for online order fulfillment.

Reference: 9.28.16, Fox 5 New York, Jennifer Lahmers, Google Express delivery service debuts in New York

Convenient Shopping Helped Holiday Online Sales Grow

The holiday shopping season has come and gone, giving a lot of retailers hope for their online sales momentum going into the new year. Internet Retailer reported about how e-commerce sales went up this year by 20% between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. This shows that more and more shoppers are becoming more comfortable with the convenience of purchasing online.

The data was gathered by MasterCard Advisors and the company's findings was based on national US retail sales across all payments types between November 27th (Black Friday) and December 24th, right before Christmas. The article mentioned how lower gas prices helped with the sales increase. Also, part of the online sales increase can be attributed to consumers lacking time to shop in stores. In addition, they can buy a gift and have it delivered; however, the recipient can handle the return if they don't like the gift.

The National Retail Federation in October predicted that retail sales during November and December will grow 3.7% compared with 2014. On-store sales—which include online and mail-order catalogs, telephone sales and other direct-to-consumer sales that do not take place online—would grow by 6-8%. Also, an October NRF survey showed that online shopping would account for almost 50% of purchases this holiday season, and that consumers, on average, said 46% of their holiday shopping this year will be done online, up from 44.4% in 2014.

ComScore Inc. forecasted that online sales would be lower than the 20% increase this year. Therefore, consumers surprised businesses with how they came out and shopped online during the 2015 holiday season. There is a level of visibility that retailers have brought to the web that makes it easy for shoppers to research, compare and make the purchase that makes the most sense. Also, in-store pick up is helping department stores like Macy's transition its' customers from online into its' store. They can bypass long lines by simply ordering online, which again save times and adds convenience to the shopping process that customers want.

Online growth is still small in comparison with in-store sales. Sarah Quinlan, MasterCard Advisors’ senior vice president of market insights, stated in the article, “I don’t believe this kind of growth is sustainable, and I think we’ll see a return to more single-digit growth numbers after the first of the year. Even with the surge in online spending growth, it’s still only 10% of total retail sales during this holiday period, so the share is still not huge. Consumers are doing their homework online and not necessarily executing there."

Online business isn't a huge total of retail sales, yet it is a growing one, commanding the attention of companies to stay current with e-commerce. For example, Amazon, Google, and more are causing same-day delivery to become a staple service with online business because of more market segments it provides access to. Many shoppers, especially younger age groups, like the convenience of utilizing their tech gadgets to get online items delivered right to their front door or workplace.

As same-day delivery grows along with e-commerce, more companies will be inclined to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to perform the actual service for them. The Portland Courier implements same-day solutions for a variety of businesses nationwide, which is plus for retailers pursuing to compete online.

Reference: 12.28.15, www.internetretailer.com, Tracy Maple, Holiday e-commerce sales surge 20%

Modern Distribution Management Talks Same-Day Delivery And It's Growth

With the emergence of e-commerce and online retail, shopping has become easy, efficient, and for retailers, very competitive. Retailers have been looking for the next big thing to grab a hold to in order to take consumer buying to the next level. What was not even considered in the past as having no imprint on retail, is now perhaps what is creating something so revolutionary, it is paving the way of the future of business.

Same-day delivery, which use to be commonly known as "local delivery", is what has become a premier driver in the retail and distribution industry. Modern Distribution Management recently released an article discussing how same-day delivery has become well-known as it has been made more logistically feasible due to modern fleet technology. In times past, local delivery was simply involved getting a package, item or freight, from one point to another within a short radius. It was only conceivable to have certain products shipped in this fashion, especially with transportation costs accounting for 25 to 35 percent of a seller's overall overhead. Yet now, distributors have the type of technology-based delivery network suited and innovative enough to handle same-day delivery.

Grand Junction, cloud-based software company that helps distributors manage their delivery network, had input on the rise of same-day delivery in the article. Its' founder and CEO Rob Howard commented, "(Local delivery) has been around, but it's starting to hit the prime time. One of the reasons is because Amazon, eBay, Google – bunches of people – are starting to offer same-day delivery programs for consumers. And they have to use the local delivery industry for that, and that is a forcing function to force the professionalization of local delivery and kind of move it to the prime-time." This is in fact true as these large e-retailers are making huge investments into this level of service, as shoppers' access to online use grows.

Online sales have experienced growth year after year and there's a reason why. Technology has also opened the door wide for convenience, as consumers can virtually shop from anywhere they are. The best deals are online and shoppers enjoy the hunt. Once they find it, some of them don't want to wait multiple days to get their purchase in their hands. Same-day delivery is literally bridging the gap, as shoppers aren't getting their products from a distribution center far away. What they just bought can be sourced from the local physical store and delivered to their front door within hours.

With the direction of technology, distribution and logistics, same-day delivery is going to become a household option for shipping products, whether it comes from a local warehouse, physical store or a delivery truck. It would be wise for companies that are looking to thrive online and in their local stores, to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express. The Portland Courier can help expand your online business quickly to enter into new markets and can be a one-stop source for same-day delivery nationwide. A-1 Express can help get your local delivery system headed upstream with the flow of current fulfillment trends, so as logistics move, you'll move with it.

References: 7.7.14, www.mdm.com, Scott Merrill, Same-Day Delivery, Fleet Tracking Gain Focus in Distribution

Google Adds To Google Shopping Express, Launches Next-Day Delivery

No one would have thought that same-day delivery for online retail would be so explosive as it has in recent years. Growth is continuing as a pace where e-retailers are hungry for more market share than ever before. Even search engine giant Google has jumped into the same-day delivery race to compete with Amazon and eBay. Shoppers enjoy convenience and a variety of delivery solutions can be just what they are looking for. That's why Google is not only providing same-day delivery in a number of major US cities, but now another shipping option has been created to attract more shoppers--next day delivery.

Google has announced that it will now offer next-day delivery within the Google Shopping Express service umbrella. The new next-day delivery shipping option will be available in the Fresno north area, up to the Oregon border. The service will be initially launched in Oakland, Fremont, Berkeley, and well-known East Bay area of San Francisco, which was the launching pad for same-day delivery last year. Within months, next-day delivery will then expand as south as Fresno and as far north as the California-Oregon border. The Northern California area appears to have the right demographics and infrastructure for Google not only to roll-out the service, but to also be highly successful.

Google's next-day delivery consists of shipping orders made by 7pm and then delivered the next day to its' customers. Google offering next-day delivery makes sense. With online ordering, shoppers enjoy having a retailer with delivery options that can shift right along with them. Shoppers could need same-day delivery one day. and the week following, they could require next-day delivery and deem it more suitable.

Google Shopping Express was launched last year, as the search giant partnered with well-known retailers to deliver products same day. Companies such as Target and Staples are just a few of the retailers involved in Google Shopping Express. Now, with next-day delivery, Target and others from Google Shopping Express, have partnered with the search giant, including Walgreen Co., Blue Bottle Coffee, Toys 'R' Us, American Eagle Outfitters, Raley's Nob Hill Foods, and Palo Alto Toy & Sport. The report also stated Costco, Office Depot and REI have all jumped into the service.

To help make Shopping Express more attractive to shoppers, Google is offering a six-month free trial, which expires on the 30th of this month. The price for service is $4.99 per store stop for non-members;yet Google didn't state what the charge will be for all Shopping Express members. Customers pay for their deliveries via Google Wallet. The app stores the customer's card and address information, creating a faster checkout service.

Once a customers sees the value and convenience of fast deliveries via web retail, the benefits of it will cause shoppers to continue to order online more. Whether its' same-day delivery or next-day delivery, a same-day courier like A-1 Express can partner with large e-retailers like Google and create an optimal courier logistics solution. The Portland Courier has a national footprint and can be a one-stop source for all of their delivery needs.

References: 6.4.14, Internet Retailer, Abby Callard, Google adds overnight delivery to Google Shopping Express

Amazon Testing Drones For Same-Day Delivery

One thing about same-day delivery is most retailers and shoppers like the fact that it is so convenient. The ease of the service is undeniable and online business sees the benefits of offering this level of service. Amazon is one retailer that offers same-day delivery and has over 40 order fulfillment centers to aid the service to spread easily in more US cities. Now, the retail giant is testing another way to make same-day delivery in the future even more convenient.

Internet Retailers recently reported that Amazon released new information that the retailer is testing its' first new delivery model using drones. The drones will be used to deliver only small packages to online shoppers. The drones will only deliver packages that are 5 pounds or less. It remains unsaid on whether this weight limit will increase, however, 86% of all Amazon orders meet the drone delivery criteria.

The service will be called Prime Air, which is identical to the Prime family called Amazon Prime. For a $79 yearly fee, online customers can subscribe to a yearly free shipping program. Amazon may offer with Prime Air a subscription along those lines as well. The service offering a subscription is yet to be made known with the drone testing still in process, however, same-day drone delivery will probably be very attractive for all customers worldwide.

Amazon made a statement relative to drone use for same-day delivery and the company appears to be very excited about the futuristic service. Amazon stated in the report, “The goal of this new delivery system is to get packages into customers' hands in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles. Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years and the [Federal Aviation Administration] rules and regulations.”

The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) did stated the drone same-day delivery will take same-day delivery stated within "several years" to create the rules, which will be drone deliveries like this. The agency also state it has tested "Unmanned Aircraft Systems roadmap" last month, discussing the requirements for us to enter national airspace", Agency administrator Michael Huerta stated in the report stating all deliveries will travel correctly. "It provides a five-year outlook and will have annual updates." 7,500 drones will being flying in the US within five years, which the first commercial drone was used for surveying this past September for a health project.

Amazon is having e-retailers guessing on what will be the next big trend. E-retailers, with large volume of orders to fulfill, will need a delivery system in place via partners such as a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express. Until this service gets off the ground, e-retailers can call on the Portland Courier the provide superior delivery services and quick service implementation as well.

Reference: 12.2.13, Internet Retailer, Thad Reuter, Amazon.com dances with the drones