eBay to Launch Same Day Shopping Service
The world of online retailing is slowly changing. A side effect of the investigation into their tax affairs has seen Amazon open a number of distribution centers around the US, with the aim of providing same day shipping.
This is understandable, as Amazon controls their own delivery channels. Can it work when you're relying on others though? eBay thinks so, as they're soon to launch a same day shipping service called eBay Now.
They are trialling the service in the San Francisco area. Users will access the service via an iOS app, with SF residents paying $5 to get same day delivery from local shops.
The same day delivery is only available for purchases over $25 in value, but beta testers of the new service are offered $15 from their first same day order, plus free shipping on their first three orders before the $5 delivery fee kicks in.
eBay have revealed that shoppers can expect to receive their purchaes in as little as an hour. Stores included in the scheme include Toys R Us, Target and Best Buy.
eBay will be racing Amazon to launch this kind of prompt service. At the moment Amazon offers Prime users two day delivery for free, and next day delivery for $3.99, although they are said to be rolling out same day delivery shortly, albeit on a small scale.
Amazon’s CFO Tom Szkutak said ”we don’t see a way to do same-day delivery on a broad scale economically” during the company’s Q2 earnings call.
The distribution network required to execute same-day service could be immensely expensive for Amazon, and even more so for the less-equipped eBay. Failure to produce a reliable or affordable service could be a big waste of resources. Szkutak’s comments do leave open the possibility of same-day service like eBay Now in metropolitan areas, which is certainly easier than in spread out rural locales.
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