2015 may mark a historic change in the way that people think of ordering goods online. For the first time, users in major cities can expect to get their goods the same day that they order them, meaning that one major advantage of local goods – their immediacy – may go out the window. What does this mean for restaurants, bookstores, grocery chains, specialty retailers, and all the other businesses that Amazon threatens? It’s hard to say. This new tech trend toward faster service and delivery has been pointing toward single-day delivery for a long time, but this is the first time that customers in major cities will feel the benefit.
“It’s not quite teleportation, but it’s the next best thing.”
Like all good things on Amazon, the new service is free to Prime members. The new system isn’t perfect, of course. It promises single-day shipping to only a smattering of cities, notably avoiding some of the ones that are a little more sprawling than others. For example, New York City, Seattle and Dallas are on the list, but Chicago, Austin and Miami aren’t. The service is also only available for orders that are already worth a combined $35, so it isn’t designed for getting a person to hand-deliver a Snickers bar. It’s not quite teleportation, but it’s the next best thing.
Faster forever
The remarkable thing about Amazon‘s new service is that it is likely unprofitable at its current stage. That is, it can’t be good for Amazon‘s bottom line right now to deliver many of its items to customers at this speed. However, Amazon‘s “growth before profits” strategy is what allowed it to become such a big presence online in the first place. Before it was anything other than an online bookseller, it continued to push for larger platforms and space to work in, and this has finally allowed it to command the online marketplace.
Better technology and methods enables speedy delivery
Once Amazon has finally gained control over online selling, there is no telling where it will look next. There are a lot of options for Amazon at this point, but it seems likely that the retailer will try to continue its hold over all retail space. At this point it is no longer just competing to be the largest seller online, but also in physical stores, too. There’s no reason, otherwise, to push for same day delivery.
