Chris North, Managing Director of Amazon UK, identified that Amazon Prime customers already love fast delivery and the option to pick up at a suitable time – so same-day delivery to a pick up point was a natural next step.

Based on reports so far, Amazon’s same day delivery service will work in the same way as click and collect, in that you can have your parcel delivered to one of over 500 newsagents and convenience stores for collection. With click and collect set to be the most popular delivery choice this Christmas it looks like Amazon’s timing is perfect.

If customers order before 7:45pm they can expect their parcel to be ready by 6:30am and if they order before 11:45am they can collect by 4pm. There is no doubt that this will add an even larger competitive edge to Amazon.

Quicker delivery times have become crucial for online retailers to remain competitive. Although Amazon are one of the UKs largest online retailers, accounting for 70 million parcels, it is unlikely that other retailers won’t try to follow suit. Google have already partnered with a number of retailers in the USA to trial same-day delivery options.

Initially same-day delivery will be added to Amazon Prime accounts for free and we don’t think it’ll be long before we’re ordering last minute birthday presents to pick up before the end of the day.

What does this mean for you?

As one of the biggest online retailers it’s no surprise that Amazon are one of the first to offer same-day deliveries. Whilst this delivery option may not seem feasible for smaller businesses, there is no doubt that it will be a game changer – after all we have followed their lead before.

According to a UPS survey 47% of shoppers say free shipping is the most important option at checkout, but 33% are willing to pay for a faster shipping option.

B2B online shopping, for the end buyer is largely about cost and convenience. It’s all well and good extending your opening hours 24/7 to give your customers convenient ordering times, but if they then have to wait a week for delivery, or pay above the odds for quicker delivery the likelihood is you’ll lose them.

Delivery options are rapidly becoming the most competitive aspect of online selling. Whilst same day delivery may seem a long way off for the majority of businesses, options such as next day or click and collect are not. If you don’t have these options someone else probably does and even if you’re really competitive on price you need to cater for the convenience side of shopping as well.