Large Online Retailers Testing Same Day Delivery Concept
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently conducted a survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers and asked them about their online shopping delivery preferences. More than three-fourths of those surveyed stated free delivery was more important than same-day delivery. But, it did find that “affluent millenials,” (consumers between 18 and 34 with household incomes above $150,000 living in urban areas) are willing to pay up to $10 to have items they order online delivered on the same day. Though this represents only about 2% of the online shopping market, large online players are testing this concept.
Here are the services being tested by Google, Wal-Mart, Amazon and eBay.
In March, Google began testing Google Shopping Express, it’s same day delivery service in the San Francisco/Bay area: Stores included: Target, Walgreen’s American Eagle, ToysRUs, Staples, Office Depot and some local shops. Testers are being given 6 months of the delivery service free in exchange for trying it out. On its website, Google says it is still looking for both testers and retailers to add to the service.
Amazon
Called Local Express, the Amazon one-day delivery service is available in several cities across the country including: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington DC. Delivery fees start at $3.99 for gift cards. All other items start at $8.99. Order deadlines vary from 7am to 11am depending upon the city.
eBay
eBay Now, launched last August and available in San Francisco, New York city and San Jose. It is scheduled to offer the service in Chicago and Dallas this summer. eBay’s website claims delivery is generally under one hour and the cost is $5 while the service is in Beta. Hundreds of stores are included in the program. A few are: Babies R Us, Best Buy, Free People, GNC, Guitar Center, Home Depot, Macy’s, Office Depot, Radio Shack. Orders can be taken up to 6pm most days and minimum orders are $25.
Walmart
Walmart To Go is being tested in Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and San Jose/San Francisco. During the test period, shoppers will be able to go online to shop for items like toys, electronics, sporting goods and other gifts, and then have them delivered to their address on the same day. The program uses stores as fulfillment centers. During the test, Walmart is charging a $10 fee for an unlimited number of items, with no minimum purchase required, and is working with UPS to deliver the orders. Customers can place orders up until noon in their timezone, and then choose a 4-hour windows to take delivery that same day (i.e., 4-8 pm, 5-9 pm, 6-10 pm). For returns, customers can choose to take the item back to the store, refuse delivery, or schedule the courier to retrieve the time.
If you have tried any of these services, we’d like to hear from you. Share your thoughts on how the service worked for you.
