Amazon has very good news for customers
Superhero movies. Bottomless brunches. Doggy day care. Gas stations the size of shopping malls. Desserts in the shape of pizzas.
These are just a few of the things that make American culture so special.
And while some may argue the U.S. gets only more divided, particularly as we head deeper into a presidential-election year, all 330 million of us still can probably agree on a few things.
One of those things is a core value — free and fast delivery — at one of the largest and most successful companies ever known to mankind.
In 2024 we could be talking about a variety of different companies. But the one that really kicked off speedy fulfillment is Amazon, which rolled out the Prime membership system, complete with free and fast (then twoday) shipping — in 2005
Since then, two-day shipping has become more or less the gold standard for internet consumers. Whether it’s a book, a pair of shoes or a new car, if you’re shopping for it online, you’re likely to expect it fast. Like, by-theend-of-this-week fast.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a newcomer to business to consumer fulfillment or you’ve been online for ages. Ever since COVID, most customers largely shopped for their goods online, whether out of preference or mandate. This sudden and dramatic shift in consumer behavior made it crucial to a company’s survival not just to offer delivery but to keep up with the big boys.
Walmart quickly followed suit, and its paid membership program, Walmart+, now offers two-day shipping, with some orders coming as quickly as same-day.
Target in March launched its own fastfulfillment initiative, but it promises members of its Target Circle 360 program will get orders in as little as one hour.
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As other retail giants work to keep up with Amazon’s fast shipping, the online giant has been working to outpace them.
On Monday, Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington outlined a new report about how the company has been doing when it comes to fast delivery.
He wrote that Amazon set a record during the first three months of
2024, delivering more than two billion products on the same day or following day after orders were placed.
He also mentioned that in 2005, when Amazon Prime began, about one million products were available via two dayshipping. Now, that number has ballooned to over 300 million.