Same-Day Delivery – The Final Retail Frontier

One of the final frontiers in retailing today is the ability to offer same-day delivery for merchandise deliveries. Amazon currently sets the standard in this regard in major markets, with same-day delivery available for Amazon Prime customers (pursuant to a $119 annual membership fee).

Macy’s recently announced that they will be offering free same-day delivery in 30 cities for a limited time (as yet unspecified). This is obviously an attempt to counter Amazon’s delivery offering, and to provide a shot in the arm during the upcoming holiday season. Macy’s is partnering with last mile delivery partner Deliv to provide this service, which is presumably focused on those markets where Macy’s and Deliv both have a strong presence. The markets are a combination of larger markets (New York, Chicago, Houston) and smaller markets (Grand Rapids and Sacramento); Detroit and St. Louis represent significant Macy’s markets without same-day delivery.

The key component of this analysis, however, is that this program will only be offered for a limited time by Macy’s. Conventional brick and mortar retailers need to identify a viable long-term and sustainable strategy in order to compete with Amazon and other e-commerce operators. Holiday time offers may help to delay the inevitable, but are not in and of themselves a viable long-term solution.

Read the full article – Macy’s to make same-day delivery free in 30 markets, for a limited time.

Read our related article – Amazon Exits the Restaurant Delivery Business on June 24th, 2019.