Millennials Driving More Retailers To Offer Same-Day Delivery

The growth of online retail is coming from all directions, including from millennials. With the use of tech gadgets and mobile devices, the new generation is making its' impact on how retailers are doing business. Their voice is even being heard when it comes to same-day delivery growth.

Multichannels Merchants recently released news relative to a high percentage of millennials are all in with same-day delivery being offered as a shipping option. Fraud prevention firm Trustev and Coldwell Banker Commerical Affiliates performed surveys that found over 56% of consumers between ages 18-34 expect retailers to provide same-day shipping when they order online, and 64% of the millennial demographic were more likely to make an online purchase if same-day delivery was offered. This is a huge stat that is going to make a number of heads turn by physical and web-based only retailers that are not on board with same-day delivery yet.

Rurik Bradbury, CMO of Trustev, commented on the findings in the report. "They’re mostly digital natives, and the younger half grew up knowing nothing but online apps. So we can see how their worldview has shaped those expectations. At this point we’ve had e-commerce for more than 20 years, but now there are a bunch of same-day delivery providers like Deliv and Postmates, built with this group’s real-time demands in mind.”

In regards to fraud for the quick turnaround times for same-day delivery, he also said, “A lot of famous brands, including a large higher-end clothing retailer, have told us they dread the push from executive management to do same day because it’s not possible with their current process. The average retailer reviews 10% of its transactions, so to turn these orders around (while mitigating fraud) and not missing the one-day cutoff isn’t possible with current systems.”

Amazon and 1-800 Flowers were the only two of the 50 top retailers in the Manhattan area zip code 10001, which Trustev researched, that offered same-day delivery as a standard option within their checkout process. Yet, there is a growing list of companies diving into rolling out same-day delivery programs nationwide, including big name retailers like Walmart, Williams Sonoma, Target, Ulta Beauty, Costco, Staples, Ace Hardware, Neiman Marcus and Macy's. Kohl’s has now launched its' same-day pilot program in San Francisco and Chicago also.

Macy's is the department store retailer that has expanded its' same-day delivery service the most. Late last year, Macy's rolled out its' program in 8 major US cities, which included San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, and New Jersey. Its' program grew into nine more US markets this past August, including plans by Macy's to expand into 14 more by the end of the year. Macy's now is in more markets with the service than Amazon.

With these figures by millennials, not to mention that online retail is forecasted to grow upward to $500 billion by 2018, companies will begin seeing that same-day delivery will become a standard option for shoppers. Retailers aren't on their own when it comes to implementing the popular service. They can partner with a same-day courier like A-1 Express and get their online business turned toward the new fast service trends to come. The New York Courier has a nationwide footprint and can help retailers gain more of the millennial market.

Reference: 9.24.15, www.multichannelmerchant.com, Mike O'Brien, Half of Millennials Want Same-Day Delivery, but Most Retailers Don’t Offer It

Google Express Expands To Fresh Food Same-Day Deliveries

As eBay sits out of the same-day delivery race for now, Google clearly has its' sites on Amazon. The retail giant's most recent move proves it. Since 2013, Google has been aggressively involved in express delivery withing hours of everyday online products, along with certain foods. Now, same-day grocery delivery of fresh foods is next.

CNet reported this week that Google will be testing same-day grocery delivery later this year. This is a trailblazer for Google, as this will be the first time its' service, Google Express, will be tackling the delivery of fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods. The key is these types of groceries is they will have to be delivered quickly. Google already delivers on mass scale general products within hours, and fresh foods won't be any different. Testing will begin in the San Francisco Bay Area, partnering with large grocery store chains like Costco and Whole Foods.

The move is strategically beneficial for both Google and partnering grocery stores. Physical store chains are able to tap into the market of shoppers that don't enjoy dealing with finding a good parking space and waiting in long checkout lines just to get some apples and a loaf of bread. Whole Foods currently offers fast delivery for food trays and volume food orders for corporation having business luncheons and events. Google Express grocery shopping online will appeal to younger shoppers also, especially college students.

Wal-Mart, like Costco and Whole Foods, already is involved in same-day delivery. The robust retail leader has the service in a number of US cities, as well as in Canada. Wal-Mart offers free same-day service in Canada to aggressively compete against Amazon.ca in that area. As far as further same-day delivery plans, Wal-Mart does have its' neighborhood market stores, which it rolled out a few years ago. These small, close-proxy stores can act as fulfillment centers for online orders. Wal-MarttoGo is also another service option, allowing shoppers to order online and then pick up their orders from a nearby participating store.

Online retail is forecasted to reach over $500 billion by 2018 and delivering groceries will have its' impact on this expected growth. Google's same-day grocery launch will grow, along with its' same-day and overnight delivery in other major US cities. Just this week, Google Express expanded into five more Midwest states, including Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, and Boston already have Google Express. Amazon's same-day grocery delivery service that is available in Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities. As its' free same-day service expands from Seattle and California, with the right numbers, this will probably be the case for delivering groceries too.

Google's new fresh food deliveries is sure to peak the interest in other e-retailers and brick-and-mortar retailers who are considering doing the same. Whether it's food or not, same-day delivery is here to stay. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express can assist any retailer with implementing the same-day delivery program they need. The Washington DC Courier has a national footprint to help large retailers obtain a service that can be used in any of their markets.

Reference: 8.18.15,www.cnet.com, Richard Nieva, Google to test same-day grocery delivery service

Amazon Expands Again, This Time It's Seattle

Amazon expands again, as it moves closer and closer to providing same-day delivery nationwide. USA Today reported how Amazon has literally come home with the popular service. Seattle is Amazon's hometown, and the web retailer has now implemented same-day delivery of thousands of products there. Prime Now will cover not only Seattle, but also Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland zip codes and more will probably follow.

The fast service is taking the retail market by storm, especially with offering free same-day services in Seattle and California. More cities are set to be added, such as San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Washington DC, New York, and Atlanta. These are all major cities that the service can ideally thrive in, being they have the economies of scale to make same-day delivery profitable. Prime Now started last December, and will span the US soon enough.

How the service works is Prime Now is currently free for all members, which is performed within a two-hour window. For even faster service, Prime Now one-hour delivery is available for $8. Deliveries are made between 8am and 12am local time, seven days a week. Prime members pay $99 per year for free two-day shipping as well. Each option fits different shoppers and how they define convenience. With tech gadgets within an arms' reach, shoppers can purchase anything from wherever they are. This makes Amazon and other companies position themselves to have their online products accessible from anywhere too.

The article mentioned how Amazon's Prime Now is helping the web-based retailer to compete with big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart is not only involved in same-day delivery in several US cities, but has also acquired online giant Yihaodian, which provides same-day and next-day delivery in China. It won't be long before we find Wal-Mart offering more same-day delivery in the US. Target is gaining ground online as well, experiencing 26% web sales growth and partnered with Google Express to make their delivery model work.

Macy's is not far behind in the same-day delivery race. In fact, it may be ahead. The retailer expanded into nine more US markets this month. Prior to the holiday season in 2014, Macy's aggressively rolled out same-day delivery in 8 major US cities, which included San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, and New Jersey. Now, not only with the new nine markets, Macy's will launch the service in a total of 14 new markets this year, making its' span larger than Amazon's. Both companies are gearing up for the holiday season only a few months away.

Amazon's market reach is compelling other retailers to expand their own. A same-day courier like A-1 Express is a viable option for web-based and physical store retailers to partner with and grow. The Seattle Courier has a national footprint and develops fast implementation for same-day delivery expansion. No matter where a retailer needs to deliver within big cities for their same-day models, A-1 Express can logistically get it there.

Reference: 8.26.15, Yahoo News, Don Reisinger, Amazon's same-day delivery comes to Seattle

More Ship-From-Store Deliveries For Target

There is so much that store retailers are doing online to compete with web-based retailers like Google and Amazon. Target has made strategic improvements to its' e-commerce and the numbers show it. Yet, it is doing something that web retailers can't do, which is utilize their physical stores for shipping.

Internet Retailer reported how Target is now planning to expand its' ship-from-store capabilities, as second quarter sales have thrived. The same time last year, Target's e-commerce accounted for only 2.2% of its' overall sales, versus 2.7% in 2015. This doesn't appear like much, however, it equates to an almost $100 million jump from last year, resulted in increased web sales of 26.1%. With all of the online growth, Target is setting itself to triple the number of stores that will fulfill online orders in the second half of the year from 140 to 450, more than likely to gear up for the holidays.

“Ship-from-store capabilities allow us to balance inventory across the network, leverage the capital and labor already in our stores, and reach guests more quickly", said Target CEO Brian Cornell. Store shipping allows products to be sourced from any store, but get it to the customer in the same request time frame. A few more duties are added to the retail clerk to get items picked, packed, and shipped out. Speed is the element that Target will benefit from the most, adding the versatility that satisfies customer delivery needs, even with same-day delivery. Shipping from stores within a close radius makes last-mile delivery execution easy. This could be an underlying driver for Target.

Macy's is like Target, yet the retailer since last year has made a strong push to make ship-from-store delivery a core service product. However, Macy's is out front primarily with same-day delivery from its' stores. Prior to the holiday season last year, Macy's launched same-day delivery in 8 major US cities, including San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, and New Jersey. Customers can get same-day delivery with Macy's for all online orders placed daily by 1pm and by 11 am on Sundays. Now, the popular retailer is expanding into 14 new markets this year, making its' span larger than Amazon.

Target already works with Google Express in several cities to handle its' fast online pick up from stores. The question is will it heavily expand like Macy's? Increased online sales show that Target could go in that direction. Same-day delivery works with volume and it would fit, as Target is just about everywhere in the US. Nationwide retailers like Ace Hardware and Petco have also jumped into the race of same-day delivery. A same-day courier like A-1 Express is ideal for brick-and-mortar retailers to thrive and do it quickly. A-1 Express has a national footprint and is capable of implementing same-day solutions fast. The Dallas Courier is equipped to handle robust delivery programs.

If Target focuses on 2-3 day, ship-from-store options for some of the market, the other market of shoppers that enjoy fast, convenient delivery will need Target's attention too. As companies like Google and Amazon expand online to meet these customers at the door with same-day delivery, Target knows it must venture out farther with same-day services in order to continue growth.

Reference: 8.19.15, www.internetretailer, Matt Lindner, Target goes full speed with ship-from-store

Amazon Launches Free Same-Day Delivery In California

If someone would have told you that same-day delivery was free, you probably wouldn't believe it. With all of the investment into seamless omnichannel creation that's behind supplying online and store products to shoppers and all of the upfront costs of launching in big cities, you wouldn't think a company could conceivably pull it off. However, retailer Amazon appears to have done it.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Amazon is making same-day delivery free in 14 metropolitan cities the US. The initial launch will be in California cities in the Southland, including those in San Fernando Valley to Irvine, as well as the Redlands and Moreno Valley in the east. Prime members that make a $35 purchase and up by noon, will receive their online order by 9pm that same day. The initial rollout includes more than 1 million items, such as books, games, cooking tools, and electronics.

Amazon has added 50 fulfillment centers around the world within the last four years. It also has 109 total warehouses to handle the millions of orders it has. With its' vast locations strategically aligned primarily to service major US cities, it has now become feasible for the e-retailer to offer the service free. Chris Rupp, Amazon's vice president of Prime, stated that the free service is "a real-life changer". It will be a huge asset for shoppers that need items right away, from birthday gifts to household goods.

"These things just pop up in life, and this is meant to simplify our customers' lives," Said Rupp in an interview. "Some of the feedback we've gotten from customers is it already feels like we're living in the future." It does appear that Amazon is going future in every sense. The retail giant is one step closer to same-day delivery drones, which the company stated would be probable to deliver packages within 30 minutes. The Federal Aviation Administration has recently approved Amazon to conduct further research on drone use. This would be the very first type of delivery method of its' kind.

This could be considered a soft launch in scope of Amazon's bigger plan. The article stated that more major US cities will receive the service also, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa Bay, Washington DC, and Atlanta. There will be more than 500 cities and towns included at the launch as well, plus more added in the future.

Google is only one of the many fierce competitors running against Amazon. Google Express is expanding, as well as Wal-Mart, start-up company Deliv, Macy's, Uber, and others are all on the same current seeking to bring same-day success to their shores. It's inevitable that same-day delivery is going to be necessary in order to compete online. A same-day courier like A-1 Express can be a partner of any retailer desiring to implement the service fast. The San Francisco Courier has a nationwide footprint to accommodate broad expansion for any retailer in need.

Reference: 5.28.15, www.latimes.com, Andrea Chang, Amazon rolls out free same-day delivery