Amazon resumes third-party shipping
An Amazon service that had been on pause since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic is operational again.
The e-tailer has resumed its Amazon Shipping service, which was indefinitely halted due to the pandemic in June 2020. Launched in April 2019, Amazon Shipping bypasses Amazon fulfillment centers entirely. Select Amazon sellers with warehouses in the Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York/New Jersey metro areas can directly print Amazon shipping labels from their dashboards.
Amazon then picks up packages every weekday and delivers them to domestic consumers seven days a week, with two-to-five-day delivery (including weekends). Sellers can track packages from the warehouse to their destination. There are no residential or weekend delivery fees, and users can file claims and obtain dedicated shipper support.
Amazon increases fulfillment capability
Resuming Amazon Shipping is the latest step by Amazon to expand the fulfillment options it provides. These include launching a new program called Amazon Hub Delivery that partners with small businesses to deliver Amazon packages in their local neighborhoods.
Amazon says its goal for this program is to recruit 2,500 partners in 23 states by the end of the year. Local businesses Amazon is encouraging to participate include florists, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, gas stations, plumbers, and hair salons.
In April 2023, Amazon announced that Prime members will have two-hour delivery windows from Rite Aid stores in select ZIP codes in Newark, N.J. and Burbank, Calif. The new delivery service offers Prime members in the greater Newark and Burbank markets a product assortment from Rite Aid, with shopping via a dedicated Rite Aid page on the Amazon site or shopping app.
Amazon is also expanding “Buy with Prime,” an offering that enables U.S.-based Prime members to directly shop online stores on its third-party marketplace. Buy with Prime was initially available by invitation only for third-party retailers using the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) hosted logistics service. However, Buy with Prime is now widely available to U.S.-based Amazon retailers, including fast, free Prime delivery.