As it was predicted, so it has come to pass: In an effort to combat “porch pirates” who love swiping any boxes left outside, Amazon is launching a new service that allows delivery people to walk into customers’ homes to drop off packages. [More]
delivery
Amazon Wine Marketplace Closing Dec. 31
By 10.24.17
If you buy wine through the Amazon Wine marketplace, you might want to stock up: The e-commerce giant will close its online wine store Dec. 31. [More]
Amazon Sells Big Landlords On Package Hubs For Apartment-Dwellers
By 10.17.17
Online retail is very attractive to apartment-dwelling urbanites who may not have a car and whose nearby stores probably charge higher prices than the malls out in the suburbs. But this customer base has always posed a problem for Amazon and its ilk: Where do you leave the packages? [More]
Amazon May Go After “Porch Pirates” By Delivering To Car Trunks, Inside Homes
By 10.10.17
Have you ever come home, expecting to see an Amazon delivery waiting by your door only to find that it had been pilfered by “porch pirates” who will swipe any box with that trademark grin printed on it? But what if that same package could be delivered inside your home? [More]
Costco Ramping Up Amazon Rivalry With New Push Into Grocery Delivery
By 10.6.17
Until recently, Costco didn’t have to worry too much about Amazon, but then the online retail giant began to figure out how to sell and ship the fresh groceries and pantry items that make up Costco’s core business. In an attempt to keep itself from going the way of so many other bricks-and-mortar stores, the warehouse club is grabbing a jumbo-size battle hammer and jumping into the grocery delivery fray. [More]
Walmart Ramps Up Amazon Rivalry With Purchase Of Same-Day Delivery Company
By 10.3.17
Amazon is making bricks-and-mortar stores increasingly irrelevant in some markets by offering same-day delivery. So what’s a company like Walmart to do but try to beat Amazon at its own game. [More]
Walmart Wants To Deliver Groceries Straight To Your Fridge While You Watch From Afar
By 9.22.17
Ever wish your refrigerator would just magically restock itself? Walmart hasn’t cracked sorcery yet, but it is testing a grocery delivery service that would bring food right into customers’ homes — while they watch remotely. [More]
Guy Accuses UPS Of Trapping Him In His Home With Precarious Package Placement
By 9.5.17
There are delivery drivers who throw packages over gates or chuck from the window into someone’s yard. But there are also apparently drivers who place a package in just the right spot… to trap you in your apartment. [More]
FedEx Refuses To Believe Madonna Is Actually Madonna, Won’t Deliver Package
By 9.5.17
Madonna is perhaps one of the most easily recognized musician/actor/activist/whatever-else-she-does in the world, despite her frequently changing personas. But try telling that to FedEx. [More]
Best Buy Expanding Same-Day Delivery To More Cities, Cutting Price
By 8.31.17
If you need a gadget or cord on short notice and don’t have time to go to the store, same-day delivery from Amazon is probably the first option that you think of. Best Buy wants to change that, and is slashing the price for its own same-day delivery service while expanding the list of cities where it’s available. [More]
Domino’s Self-Driving Delivery Cars Means Having To Retrieve Pizza Yourself
By 8.29.17
Maybe you’re not ready to hop into a driverless taxi cab, but what about having your pizza delivered by a self-driving car? [More]
Walmart Imagines Floating Warehouses That Could Rain Down Delivery Drones
By 8.21.17
While Amazon has dreams of delivery drone beehives and parachuting packages, it’s not the only one looking upward: Walmart has plans for a floating warehouse capable of launching flying delivery vehicles so it can rain discount goods on you from the skies. [More]
Target Buys Shipping Tech Company To Speed Up Deliveries, Compete With Amazon
By 8.14.17
From drones to airplanes, and fleets of on-demand delivery drivers or employees dropping off packages, many retailers — most notably Amazon — have begun dipping they toes in the logistics and delivery game. Now it’s Target’s turn, as the big box retailer has acquired a transportation tech firm with the intention of speeding up deliveries to customers. [More]
Aldi Customers In Some Cities Can Now Get Delivery Through Instacart
By 8.14.17
Soon you won’t have to schlep all the way to Aldi, pay $0.25 to rent a cart, and then bag your own groceries. You can just wait at home and let Instacart do all that work instead. [More]
Amazon Tells Third-Party Booksellers To Speed Up Deliveries
By 8.8.17
That paperback book you ordered from Amazon for your upcoming beach vacation might just arrive faster than you thought. But it’ll come at a new cost for the third-party seller providing the title: Amazon is once again tightening the reins on sellers who don’t use the company’s fulfillment services, reducing their required delivery window. [More]
Little Caesars Launching ‘Pizza Portals’ So You Can Avoid Human Interaction
By 8.7.17
Though Little Caesars’ new “pizza portal” sounds like a wonderful machine that could magically zap you to any far-flung pizza destination you desire, the reality is that it’s just another way we humans can get our grub while not having to actually speak to each other. [More]
Baskin Robbins Attempting Tricky Task Of Delivering Unmelted Ice Cream To Your Door
By 7.6.17
It’s sometimes hard enough getting ice cream home from the supermarket without melting, so imagine the challenge of delivering freshly made sundaes and shakes to customers’ doors. Baskin Robbins, which has been testing ice cream delivery in L.A. and Chicago, now says it’s expanding that service to more than 600 stores around the country. [More]
