Macy’s, Best Buy expand same-day delivery ahead of holidays

Same-day delivery is not a new concept for retailers — many including Macy’s have had such services available at a small scale for years. But as Amazon continues to cultivate consumer expectations for speedy fulfillment, the race is on for retailers to up their game. And that shows in these two announcements, both of which nearly double the reach of same-day delivery.

But catching up to Amazon is easier said than done. Thanks to services like Prime Now, available in 32 major cities, the e-commerce giant commands over half of online sales in 11 retail categories, according to data from Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. The e-commerce giant is also quickly expanding efforts for speedy delivery of alcohol, which is now available in 12 cities. All of that means omnichannel efforts, including last-mile delivery and pickup options, are becoming increasingly critical to every retailer’s overall business strategy. 

During Macy’s second quarter earnings call, CEO Jeff Gennette acknowledged that omnichannel efforts, especially buy online/pickup in-store (BOPIS), is a key part of the company’s turnaround plan through the fall season. The retailer’s omnichannel strategy includes ramping up in-store inventory to reflect what Macy’s offers for sale online, broader availability of a mobile app feature that lets customers see the inventory available in their local store called “Shop Your Store” and moving the location for pick up to a main store entrance.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that whenever, wherever and however our customer chooses to shop, their experience is seamless and convenient,” Scott Prieto, executive vice president of Macy’s logistics and operations, wrote in a statement. “We’re excited that we can leverage the stores we have as fulfillment centers to power same-day delivery, closing the gap between customers and products for more of our shoppers just in time for the holidays.”

Offering speedy delivery hasn’t been a strong suit among brick-and-mortar companies and many, like Best Buy and Macy’s are using third party providers like Deliv to outsource that expertise.

Other retailers, however, are acquiring those third-party providers and bringing that knowledge in-house. Earlier this month, Target acquired Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based transportation tech company (for an undisclosed amount) to improve and expand its own delivery capabilities. The investment was touted in a company blog post as part of an ongoing effort to transform its supply chain. Target also recently expanded a next-day delivery service of popular essentials from Minneapolis to the Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver areas.

source Retail Dive