With online shopping evolving in the marketplace, customers’ expected wait times are getting shorter and shorter, which brings the question to the e-commerce market: can the general online shopping and delivering be even faster? In response to this question, the largest internet-based retailer Amazon.com Inc. decides to offer free same-day deliveries on orders over $25 of one million items in Toronto and 700,000 in Vancouver, ranging from everyday household goods such as coffee makers, snacks, drinks and shampoo to toys, electronics and luggage, starting this Tuesday(http://www.bnn.ca/amazon-launches-free-same-day-delivery-for-toronto-and-vancouver-prime-members-1.574629). Holding convenience as the main value proposition, Amazon always attempts to raise the level of convenience for their customers. Developing same-day delivery is undoubtedly another behavior showing how Amazon embraces its value proposition.
In the conventional sense of online shopping, products that can be purchased are only those that customers are not in urgent need of, such as clothes, make-ups and electronics, due to the waiting period of delivering. Therefore customers won’t put online shopping in consideration when trying to get something that is going to be used shortly. For example, when trying to get a gift for tomorrow’s dinner, or a snack for later today, people won’t go to online stores even though there might be more options. By developing same-day delivery, Amazon changes people’s traditional knowledge of online shopping and also raises the level of convenience for their customers, which embraces its value proposition and develop the customer relationship as well. Also, same-day delivery helps Amazon expand its product coverage, including foods and drinks, which also helps develop its customer segment.
However, there are also challenges following by the decision of same-day delivery. For example, unpredictable variables such as weather and traffic condition will affect the performance of same-day delivery, thus requiring operation managers to make more deliberate plans to make sure the same-day delivery will function well. I also checked Amazon.com and found that there have been no clear notes on whether or not one product is able to provide same-day delivery. As the burgeoning service in Canada, same-day delivery should be promoted with stronger efforts.
Same-day delivery signals that online shopping is developing towards less wait time and more convenience. To employ this new service more efficiently, there are still lots of challenges involving with different apartments in Amazon to be overcome. Amazon has improved itself in the aspect of “making it faster”. The next step for Amazon should be focusing more on how to “do it better”.
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