When it comes to getting you hands quickly on the stuff you bought on the internet no e-commerce company can match the quality and efficiency of Amazon Prime, the shipping service provided by Amazon that delivers products in 1-2 days. Well now it seems like some of Amazon’s rivals are testing the waters with same day delivery service.
eBay Now is a new mobile iOS app and local shopping service from eBay. It makes shopping at eBay simpler than it already is. Once the user downloads the app in his phone and logs in with the eBay user account, he can browse through 1000s of local retailers(Babies R Us, Best Buy, Free People, GNC, Guitar Center, Home Depot, Macy’s, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Target, Toys R Us, Urban Outfitters, and Walgreens) and add items to his shopping cart. Finally hit “Bring It” and laze around on your couch while a valet goes to the store, picks up the items and delivers at your doorstep within an hour! You can then pay with Paypal or any other major credit card. This service is currently available in San Francisco, San Jose and New York city. eBay is now charging a flat fee of $5 for each order. Don’t like what you just got, don’t fret; the valet will come and pick it up from your house and return it to the store.
Close to eBay Now’s announcement, Google has rolled out its own same day delivery service called the Google Shopping Express. Google calls this service “new experiment” and is inviting San Francisco Bay Area residents to take part in the trial. Interested users need to sign up for the service and will be intimidated if they are selected. Google has enlisted a number of national and local retailers for the initiative, including Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle, and Toys “R” Us, plus San Francisco’s own Blue Bottle Coffee and Raley’s Nob Hill Foods. And when you think it cannot get any better, Google is offering the testers a free 6-month membership for unlimited same-day delivery! There are no plans yet about long-term pricing for this service. Perhaps Google wants to check out the response and then decide about getting its feet wet.
Apple iPhone now ships in a day
Well, technically Apple is not a e-commerce company and sells only its electronic products online but that has not stopped Apple from announcing a free one-day shipment for all iPhones. Currently a user can order a maximum of two phones at a time. Such services are generally announced by Apple during the holiday season. Wonder if this move is in response to the recent Samsung Galaxy S4 release which has received some rave reviews.
These services seem like the next logical step to e-commerce evolution -reduce our need to step out of our houses completely so we may enjoy watching more cat videos online and shunning human contact to a bare minimum!
This article has been reproduced from Sridhar’s blog.
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