Leading the electronic commerce industry is Amazon, an American brand that boosts sales from e-books to home appliances. Amazon attracts and retains customers through its easy to navigate website that offers low priced products. An added incentive is the Super Saver Shipping program which offers free shipping for eligible orders $25 or more. In the e-book department, the newly launched Kindle Matchbook program will allow customers who have bought paperbacks new from them to purchase an electronic copy for free or below $2.99.

On top of Best Buy’s Lowest Price Guarantee policy, Best Buy recently followed suit in the ‘ship from store’ trend, a move that aims to counter online competition from Amazon. Other retailers that have already done so includes Target, Nordstorm, Macy’s, and Gap. Ship from store allows customers to order online, but rather than receiving their goods from a warehouse, the goods will be shipped from a nearby participating location. Ship from store is more cost efficient as it decreases delivery expenses and reduces inventory.

As companies continue to combine e-commerce and ship from store, each brand would be required to develop compelling points of difference to outshine their competitors and find a way for consumers to open wallets.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/09/28/retailers-ship-from-store/2862405/

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