I’ve worked for small retail websites before, and the number one customer question you have to deal with is “where is my order?” While consumers are becoming more and more tech savvy every day, many are still confounded that a digital order, paid with digital funds, still must be physically shipped and that takes (*gasp*) time. Days even, sometimes. Of course, these increased expectations are also a result of sites like Amazon who are able to feature just about every good you could want, at bargain prices, and offer some of the most competitive shipping speeds available with services like Amazon Prime.
And now, the online retail giant may be looking to inflate expectations even more.
Rumors are circulating that Amazon may be looking to set up new distribution centers all across the country. Now you could probably think of a million reasons a company like Amazon would pull of such an incredible expansion, but the official theory is that this is actually an attempt by Amazon to offer same day shipping to their customers.
Maybe I’m just being shortsighted, but I honestly didn’t see this day coming. Being able to process, ship, and deliver an order in a 24 hour period would be an absolute game changer if Amazon can actually pull it off. However, they are going to have to carefully consider what this means for costs. Amazon’s distribution centers are currently set up in low or no tax states, and they ideally pass these savings on to their customers. Setting up shop nationwide won’t only lead to short term major expenses, but long term ones as well when you figure in the additional tax that is incurred on all orders and shipments. Even if the same day service is only available through a paid subscription, the costs may be too great to not eventually impact prices across the board. Not to mention the logistics of handling such quick turnaround on shipments may be too much for a company who only recently saw fit to give their employees air conditioning.
Still it’s impossible to not see the benefits here. The biggest downside to online shopping is the waiting period, and Amazon could virtually eliminate that. Also while this does impact “mom and pop” websites, any retailers who use Fulfilled By Amazon services (Amazon FBA) could see their products arrive quicker, and sell faster than ever (even if Amazon’s stocking fees go up as a result). The how, and how much, questions are looming over this news in a big way, but the fact is that now that the idea is out there, if it’s not Amazon who does it first, they could be beat to the punch. For better or worse then, they may have to take the initiative on this one, and see how their cards fall afterwards.
