Looking to break down the barrier that keeps impulse buyers at bay, online retailer Amazon is introducing a same-day shipping option in select cities.
Amazon rolled out Local Express Delivery today in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Las Vegas and Seattle, the New York Times reports. Chicago, Indianapolis and Phoenix will soon be added to the list. To use the service, orders have to be placed by a certain time, which varies by city but generally ranges from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Delivery time is specified when ordering.
Of course, same-day delivery won't be free. Amazon Prime members, who already pay $79 per year for two-day delivery on all orders, can upgrade to same-day delivery for $6 per order. For everyone else, there's a variable charge ranging from $11 to $19 per shipment, plus a per-item charge that's roughly a few dollars per item or a couple dollars per pound. A cell phone, for instance, costs $21 in shipping for same-day delivery.
Amazon's able to offer the service because it has massive distribution centers near each of the supported locations. Dynamex and A1, two delivery companies that already offer same-day service, will carry Amazon's orders the rest of the way.
Despite what I said earlier, I don't really see this being used often for impulse buys that could also be purchased at a store. It's more likely to be useful for important shipments or emergencies. Local Express Delivery could also be desirable for high-cost, low-weight items that are hard to find in stores, so the cost of shipping pales in comparison to the item's price. But even then, you've got to be pretty short on patience.
