CNBC reports that Amazon will begin offering same-day delivery for a number of retail brands, including GNC, PacSun, Diesel and Superdry, in 10 US markets.
According to the story, "The service is free for Prime members when they spend $25 or more, or $2.99 if they spend less than $25, Amazon said."
Some context from the CNBC story:
"Amazon continues to invest heavily to make one-day and, in some areas, same-day, delivery the default for its Prime members. The company has expanded the number of one-day eligible products, and it now has 'thousands' of items that can be delivered in a few hours.
"Consumers are increasingly demanding faster delivery speeds from online retailers, as evidenced by the explosion of ultrafast grocery platforms in the last year. Retailers have also jumped on the trend by partnering with on-demand delivery providers such as DoorDash, Uber’s Postmates, Instacart, UPS’ Roadie, as well as Target’s Shipt. The partnerships mean that consumers can often get a new t-shirt or dress in a matter of hours.
"With the new partnership, retailers will fulfill orders from inventory in their stores, and a Flex delivery driver will pick them up from the retailer. Doing so allows Amazon to get online purchases to shoppers’ doorsteps even faster."
- KC's View:
-
It has been well established that during the pandemic, Amazon overbuilt its logistics network. One way to deal with that problem is to find new ways to use it, which means making deliveries for other companies.
This seems like it always has been in the cards. Amazon has been building out its delivery business as a competitor to UPS and FedEx, and so it makes sense to start offering it to select partners. I'd bet that this is test of sorts - none of these retailers are huge, but if this works, Amazon then could offer it to a more sizeable entity.
