Amazon to Bring 1-Day Delivery to Prime Members
Share
NEW YORK — Two-day delivery is going out of style.
“It is a smart change, but it is also one that is becoming increasingly necessary. Other retailers have really upped their game in terms of delivery.” — Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail
Amazon, which hooked shoppers on getting just about anything shipped in two days, said this week that it will soon promise one-day delivery for its U.S. Prime members on most items.The company hopes that cutting delivery times in half will make its $119-a-year Prime membership more attractive, since nearly every other online store offers free deliveries in two days. Amazon also can’t compete with Walmart and Target, where ordering online and picking up at a store is becoming more popular with shoppers.
“It is a smart change, but it is also one that is becoming increasingly necessary,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. “Other retailers have really upped their game in terms of delivery.”
Still, Saunders said the shift is likely to put even more pressure on Amazon’s retail rivals, as shoppers become accustomed to even faster shipping times. Shares of Walmart and Target fell Friday, a day after Amazon’s announcement.
Walmart and Target offer free two-day shipping for those who spend over $35 on their website. And both companies have been turning their physical stores into shipping hubs, speeding up deliveries and helping to defray costs.
Amazon Didn’t Say When the Change to Its U.S. Prime Membership Will Happen
Walmart Inc. declined to comment Friday. Target Corp. said its shoppers already have ways to receive purchases “within hours.”
Amazon has also been delivering more packages itself, rather than relying on UPS, the post office and other carriers.
Amazon didn’t say when the change to its U.S. Prime membership will happen, but it said Thursday that it in the past month it has been increasing its selection of items eligible for one-day deliveries.In some other countries, such as the U.K., Prime members are already offered one-day shipping.
Brian Olsavsky, Amazon.com Inc.’s chief financial officer, said the Seattle company is equipped to offer one-day shipping, since it has spent more than 20 years adding warehouses around the country where orders are packed and shipped.
Amazon has also been delivering more packages itself, rather than relying on UPS, the post office and other carriers. It has expanded its fleet of jets, has plans to open package sorting hubs at two airports and launched a program last year that allows contractors around the country to deliver Amazon packages in vans stamped with the Amazon smile logo.
Still, Amazon said that it expects to spend $800 million in this year’s second quarter to speed up deliveries.
Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking
Crime /
10 hours ago
CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?
Water /
11 hours ago
Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey
Sports /
11 hours ago
Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings
Sports /
11 hours ago
U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis
News /
12 hours ago
Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’
Sports /
13 hours ago
Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub
Crime /
13 hours ago
Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban
NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games without pay for performance-enhancing drug use.
Major ...
Sports /
9 hours ago
Categories
Latest
Videos

Sports /
9 hours ago
Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban

Fashion /
10 hours ago
The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

Crime /
10 hours ago
Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

Water /
11 hours ago
CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

Sports /
11 hours ago
Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

Sports /
11 hours ago
Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

Opinion /
15 hours ago