Business Insider reports that Home Depot is saying that it will make next-day parcel delivery “available to 50% of the US population by the end of the quarter.”
The story says that “Home Depot's expansion of its delivery capabilities is just the latest move to come out of retail's shipping wars. Walmart and Amazon are duking it out in the battle to offer shoppers fast, cheap, and convenient delivery options, but it's a movement that's affecting the entire industry.
“Home Depot's latest efforts center on parcel shipping. At the moment … Home Depot offers two-day or faster parcel shipping to 90% of Americans, while the chain touts next-day shipping for 36% of the population.”
Mark Holifield, Home Depot's executive vice president of supply chain and product development, says that speeding up delivery is important “because our data shows that every time we take time out of the delivery lead time, we increase conversion.”
The story also points out that “Home Depot teamed up with third-party shippers Roadie and Deliv to facilitate same-day and next-day coverage in major US cities last year.
“Holifield said that the company's newest fulfillment centers in Dallas and the greater Seattle area, as well as renovations to Home Depot's Hagerstown, Maryland, fulfillment center, will also assist the retailer in its quest to offer faster shipping to more customers.”
The story says that “Home Depot's expansion of its delivery capabilities is just the latest move to come out of retail's shipping wars. Walmart and Amazon are duking it out in the battle to offer shoppers fast, cheap, and convenient delivery options, but it's a movement that's affecting the entire industry.
“Home Depot's latest efforts center on parcel shipping. At the moment … Home Depot offers two-day or faster parcel shipping to 90% of Americans, while the chain touts next-day shipping for 36% of the population.”
Mark Holifield, Home Depot's executive vice president of supply chain and product development, says that speeding up delivery is important “because our data shows that every time we take time out of the delivery lead time, we increase conversion.”
The story also points out that “Home Depot teamed up with third-party shippers Roadie and Deliv to facilitate same-day and next-day coverage in major US cities last year.
“Holifield said that the company's newest fulfillment centers in Dallas and the greater Seattle area, as well as renovations to Home Depot's Hagerstown, Maryland, fulfillment center, will also assist the retailer in its quest to offer faster shipping to more customers.”
- KC's View:
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One of the things that inevitably will be the result of the Amazon-Walmart delivery competition will be pressure on other retailers - some able to afford it, but many not - to also provide next day delivery … because this is what consumers are expecting.
This will create financial pressure on a lot of companies, only some of which will be able to respond. The ones that cannot or do not then have to find other ways to compete that will differentiate them.
