Image taken from here.
I was thrilled to find out that Amazon Canada is bringing same-day delivery service to Vancouver…and then disheartened to know that the North Shore is excluded. Nevertheless, it is a unique service that will appeal to a niche market, such as holiday gift shoppers. My only concern with this service is its price tag: the convenience of receiving one’s order in a flash of hours comes with a hefty fee of $11.99 per shipment and an additional $1.99 per item for non-subscribers.
Although this feature—unique in Canada at the moment—will attract a small segment of the market, I think what can really give Amazon a competitive advantage over its competitors in the long run is to develop a courier department dedicated to shipping packages to customers across the densely populated cities of Canada. After all, it is really difficult to find a Canadian who is perfectly content with Canada Post. A courier service system dedicated to deliver Amazon packages will
1) Expedite the shipping process, which will increase customer’s level of satisfaction because of shortened wait.
2) Eliminate third-party involvement for the delivery phase of each transaction. It is easier to manage internally, meaning that Amazon will be able to provide its customers with more accurate and timely parcel tracking data.
3) Give Amazon a real life presence. As Roger Hardy, the CEO of Clearly Contacts, has pointed out, “brick and mortar stores can complement web presence.” Though the department is not technically a store, it can definitely serve as the face of Amazon, through which Amazon can better receive feedback from its customers.
All points mentioned above work toward increasing customer loyalty, which translates into more sales. Indeed the creation of a courier department is costly; however, I believe that the benefits customers can expect from such dedicated service will encourage them to choose Amazon over its competitors, such as Walmart, when it comes to purchasing online. The additional revenue generated will eventually exceeds the cost of maintaining a courier department. In fact, Amazon China has already adopted this system. As a result, it has managed to be profitable, even in the competitive Chinese e-commerce market that is dominated by Alibaba.
Works Cited
Beauchamp, Mike. “Amazon Adds New Same Day Delivery Markets, Now Serves 12 Cities With Local Express Delivery.” ZAGG. 7 May 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <http://www.zagg.com/community/blog/amazon-same-day-local-express-delivery/>.
Lus, Steve. “Amazon Canada Same Day Delivery Coming to Vancouver, Toronto – British Columbia – CBC News.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/amazon-canada-same-day-delivery-coming-to-vancouver-toronto-1.2824898>.
Stastna, Kazi. “CBC News – Amazon Expansion Could Be Just What Canada’s E-commerce Sector Needs.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/1.2595939>.