Dive Brief:
- Amazon is shutting down a same-day delivery program that picked up orders from retailers' local stores, a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
- The program, called Amazon Today, will offer delivery and in-store pickup services with select retail partners until Jan. 24. The majority of products available on Amazon Today will continue to be available through other same-day and next-day delivery methods, the spokesperson said.
- The Amazon Today team includes about 175 people, and most of those impacted by the program's closure will transition to other positions within the company, per Amazon.
Dive Insight:
The closure of Amazon Today will streamline the e-commerce giant's offerings, as it has "seen a growing overlap between" its other fast delivery programs and the soon-to-be-shuttered service, per the spokesperson.
The same-day delivery program for Prime members, announced in 2022, featured PacSun, GNC and SuperDry as initial participants. Amazon previously touted the service as a way to offer customers a wider range of products at fast shipping speeds by leveraging brick-and-mortar inventory.
Retailers tapping into the program have had to ensure their in-store fulfillment operations met Amazon's high expectations.
The onboarding process included incorporating Amazon standard operating procedures into participating locations, per the Amazon Today website. As of January 2023, stores had to maintain a 99% pickup readiness rate, which Amazon defines as having orders successfully picked, packed and staged within an hour of an order notification.
Despite Amazon Today's demise, Amazon is still pushing to expand its fast shipping capabilities. The company plans on further building out its network of same-day delivery facilities, CEO Andy Jassy said in an August earnings call. He added that more than 5 billion items have arrived the same day or the next day globally for Prime customers so far this year, making the company's delivery speeds "faster than ever before."
