Last week I had something delivered from Amazon almost every single day. They weren’t necessarily big things though. One day it was a new corn broom for the patio. Another day it was a small set of hooks that I wanted to hang some lights. And the list goes on.
This is what Amazon wants us to do. Order every little thing, instantly, as soon as you think about it. And it’s magically convenient.
Developers and architects are of course thinking about the implications of this shifting shopping habit on new residential developments. Usually it comes in the form of a large “Amazon room” and/or a parcel locker system.
I recently measured the package room in my building (geeky, I know). It’s about 10′ x 6′ and it sometimes isn’t enough for the volume of daily packages generated by ~360 units.
The other thing that happened last week is that my concierge said to me: “Brandon, we have become a full fledge post office with the amount of packages that come through here every day.” Every evening there’s a lineup of people waiting to collect their packages.
That immediately signaled to me that simply providing a larger room probably isn’t enough. This trend is only going to continue. How could we better design and optimize for this shift?
I am sure that there many companies working on this problem. Hopefully they will surface in the comments and in my inbox following this post.
Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash
Yesterday I ordered something from Amazon Prime. The guaranteed delivery time was today before 9pm, but within an hour of ordering the delivery estimate was updated and it ended up arriving on the same day about 5 hours after my order. I thought this was pretty amazing, particularly because the package was a bit time sensitive.
Delivering to individual residences is more expensive than delivering to more centralized businesses and stores. And with the rise of online shopping, UPS now delivers as many as 31 million packages every day. Because of this, every little detail counts.
Last year the company started installing Bluetooth receivers on the inside of its delivery trucks. If a driver incorrectly loads a package that isn’t on their route, it pushes out a loud beep. (This is one of the many tech and data-driven projects that UPS is working on to ensure it stays competitive.)
Previously there was no final check. If there was a rogue package on the truck, it meant the driver would have to stray from their route, coordinate a handoff, or delay the package for another day. These mishaps can really add up when you’re delivering 31 million packages in a single day.
With Amazon squeezing delivery times and with the rumors that it’s going to start its own delivery business (to compete directly with UPS and FedEx), one has to wonder about the impact that these volumes will have on our cities. Perhaps autonomous vehicles will really become the new roaming retail outlet – ready to deliver as soon as we click buy.
Today it was announced that Amazon is planning to launch its “Prime Now” service in Vancouver and Toronto this November and January, respectively.
The pilot program will offer two-hour deliveries for members and, according to the Wall Street Journal, will be be heavily focused on groceries.
It’s worth noting that most of Whole Foods’ stores in Canada (now owned by Amazon) are in and around Vancouver and Toronto. And that Amazon has already started lowering prices to make those stores more competitive.
Right now a “Prime” membership in Canada costs CAD$79 per year. I’m not sure if the price will change at all for “Prime Now”, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that it won’t.
If this service was available to you today (or if you’re in a city that currently has it), would you (do you) use it? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Two common objections around online grocery shopping are that many people want to touch and feel the goods before they buy and that perishable deliveries are a challenging thing to coordinate.
I think I can work around those objections and would certainly try this today if it was available in Toronto. What about you?