Anyone engaged in ecommerce operations is probably following the trade press reports on same-day-delivery.
It’s a gee-whiz offer, but does it increase sales? Is it profitable? Is it cost-effective?
For some merchants, it makes all kinds of sense. In fact, for some, such as florists, it’s almost a requirement. It makes sense even for office supply stores, and some high-end merchants — Macy’s, Nordstrom and similar companies.
All of these companies have inventory widely dispersed and can take advantage of local courier services or even, as in the case of most florists, have their own existing delivery infrastructure.
But what about everyone else?
Here’s an interesting story from StorefrontBacktalk.com, reporting on Amazon’s recent experience. It reports that Amazon saw a conversion increase of 20-25% when they offered same-day-delivery, but few of customers actually asked for same-day-delivery.
Demonstrating a great point: Marketing is one-thing, but what customers actually want, need or use may be another.
Now, you just have to figure out where you fit on this new paradigm.
