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Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

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Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#181

Post by ghaff »

rev_bird wrote: post #116
gmac wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK supermarket deliveries are well established. My family gets 2 or 3 Ocado deliveries a week (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice). Add that to Amazon, and I basically now only shop in shops when size/fit or feel are crucial — clothes, shoes, etc. And I really resent this — I'…

> (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice) This is great. The last time I looked (admittedly not too recently), delivery in my area of the US was just too expensive to bother, living around the corner from a supermarket and all. If it got cheaper, I'd be on that in a second. As for the m…

In my experience, you sort of need to be in a situation where either 1.) You're price-insensitive and really don't like going to the grocery store or 2.) It's inconvenient to go to the store (no car, young kids, not very mobile). The one time I used grocery delivery was when I was on crutches. Peapod was "OK" but the selection was less than the store, they'd be out of things and either didn't substitute or would substitute something I didn't want, and required a bit of planning. I last looked at their site a month or so ago and it looks exactly like it did those 10 years ago.

Instacart, on the other hand, I might use given that there's no Whole Foods especially convenient but--doubtless for exactly that reason--it's not available in my area.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#182

Post by IshKebab »

ghaff wrote: post #181
rev_bird wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice) This is great. The last time I looked (admittedly not too recently), delivery in my area of the US was just too expensive to bother, living around the corner from a supermarket and all. If it got cheaper, I'd be on that in a second. As for the m…

In my experience, you sort of need to be in a situation where either 1.) You're price-insensitive and really don't like going to the grocery store or 2.) It's inconvenient to go to the store (no car, young kids, not very mobile). The one time I used grocery delivery was when I was on crutches. Peapod was "OK" but the selection was less than the store, they'd be out of things and either didn't substitute or would subs…

> It's inconvenient to go to the store (no car, young kids, not very mobile).

Or... "have a job and don't like to waste time shopping". Seriously it's much faster to order it online, and delivery is like £2 or something. Plus there is usually a better range online, and you can see how much you are spending before you get to the checkout.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#184

Post by opaque_salmon »

chubot wrote: post #37
opaque_salmon wrote: post #12

What kind of infrastructure does it take to be able to offer this kind of service in the chosen metropolitan areas? Do they have warehouses and delivery trucks located nearby that are ready to go at a moment's notice? In any case, this is super cool of Amazon, they are really stepping up their game.

If you're interested, read "The Everything Store". I just finished it, and it talks all about this. It's not as written as well as other books, but it's definitely factual and based off of new information (interviews with Amazon employees).

Thanks for the recommendation chubot, I always appreciate being able to see/read behind the scenes. Sometimes logistics can end up being more interesting than the end result.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#185

Post by malandrew »

gmac wrote: post #86
xacaxulu wrote: post #65

I've noticed that Amazon has totally changed my shopping habits from 3-5 years ago. Clothes and household expendable items are almost entirely purchased on Amazon (even if I just want to try on a pair of boots). Prime Subscription or Pantry takes care of most of the rest. I don't need to drive to Costco anymore or spend time walking around Wal-Mart. I look forward to the day when my Whole Foods order can be delivered…

In the UK supermarket deliveries are well established. My family gets 2 or 3 Ocado deliveries a week (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice). Add that to Amazon, and I basically now only shop in shops when size/fit or feel are crucial — clothes, shoes, etc. And I really resent this — I'…

Regarding size/fit, I can't wait until even that is solved. I just pre-ordered a pair of D2 Ultrawired orthotic cycling shoes. It's a long lead time to get your shoes, 4-5 months, and the first step is getting a measurement kit to precisely measure your feet and create molds of your feet. These are then used to create custom lasts upon which each shoe is based.

There is a lot of room for technology to greatly improve the process of getting a great fit for many types of products.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#186

Post by ghaff »

IshKebab wrote: post #182
ghaff wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, you sort of need to be in a situation where either 1.) You're price-insensitive and really don't like going to the grocery store or 2.) It's inconvenient to go to the store (no car, young kids, not very mobile). The one time I used grocery delivery was when I was on crutches. Peapod was "OK" but the selection was less than the store, they'd be out of things and either didn't substitute or would subs…

> It's inconvenient to go to the store (no car, young kids, not very mobile). Or... "have a job and don't like to waste time shopping". Seriously it's much faster to order it online, and delivery is like £2 or something. Plus there is usually a better range online, and you can see how much you are spending before you get to the checkout.

Personally, I prefer to look at the produce, meat, and fish. That said, if there were better delivery options available in my area, I'd probably use them at least some of the time. But Peapod is my only option and it's not great IMO; it certainly doesn't have the selection that the B&M grocery stores do. (And if I'm going to have to go to the store anyway for some things, I don't find much of a win in having some of my groceries delivered.)

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#187

Post by getpost »

In LA, Amazon same day delivery didn't deliver on the same day in 2 of 3 orders. The order that was delivered same day came at 10pm, much too late.

Of course, I only ordered same day delivery because I actually needed the item that day. I was trying to save a car trip (an especially valuable feature in LA), but had to go out and buy the items anyway.

The people who deliver same day seem to be freelancers, who don't seem to have any delivery tracking technology.

I can't see choosing this option again. Ordering for next day delivery almost always meets the delivery commitment.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#189

Post by organsnyder »

dutchrapley wrote: post #188

I had feeling this was going to happen. While I don't live in one of the metro areas on the map, I recently had an order that I received the next day, although I chose 2-day shipping.

Recently, I've had that happen frequently—probably 50% of the time. Makes it difficult to time orders when I'm trying to receive something covertly on a day when I'm working from home (and my wife is not). I've ended up paying for overnight shipping just to ensure that I have the timing right.

Re: Amazon launches same day delivery for Prime customers

#190

Post by minthd »

groby_b wrote: post #180
minthd wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fitting problem in online retail is well known, and some companies have already worked on it: for shoes: http://shoefitr.com/ For clothes : fits.me or "clothes horse" or others. I wonder what prevents amazon from introducing such technologies at scale ?

shoefitr is so close. Now let me scan my foot instead of "I mostly fit into size X", and you've got a great solution.

Google is starting to sell tango tablets which include 3d-scanning , for everybody ,for $512. So maybe we're not far from what you suggest.
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