Online delivery competition heats up among big names
More customers in more parts of the country now have access to more goods available for online order, with delivery the next or even same day.
Google and Amazon.com are trading blows in their battle to offer online delivery of a variety of goods, for a fee.
Google is increasing the range of its Google Express next-day delivery service to Southern California. Google Express generally offers next-day delivery of items ordered from retail partners including Target, Walgreens, Kohl’s and Costco. The service costs $95 for an annual membership, or can also be used with a $4.99 fee for each individual order.
Some items in West Los Angeles will be available for same-day delivery, suggesting Google may be trying to more directly compete with the Amazon Prime Now one-hour delivery service. Meanwhile, Amazon expanded the availability of Prime Now to the San Diego metropolitan area. In addition to offering tens of thousands of items directly from amazon, Prime Now also offers San Diego customers groceries, fresh produce, prepared meals and baked goods from retail partners such as Sprouts Farmers Market and Bristol Farms.
Prime Now is available to members of the Amazon Prime expedited delivery service, which is available for an annual fee of $99. Amazon has been expanding the number of locales Prime Now is offered, as well as its product offering. Prime Now delivers restaurant orders in cities including Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles, and Amazon also offers one-hour Prime Now alcohol delivery in Seattle.
Finally, Dunkin’ Donuts is targeting archrival Starbucks, which recently started piloting deliveries to the Empire State Building, with its own test of same-day delivery. Partnering with omnichannel delivery provider DoorDash, Dunkin’ Donuts is piloting a service called “Dunkin’ Delivery” in Dallas. In the coming weeks, Dunkin’ Delivery will also be available in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Dunkin’ Delivery lets customers order products at the clock of a button between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., with delivery promised in less than 45 minutes.
Dunkin’ Donuts is also targeting Starbucks’ mobile order and pay option, offered on the Starbucks mobile app to more than 7,400 corporate stores across the U.S., with a new pilot in Portland, Maine. The pilot lets members of the DD Perks rewards program download the new Dunkin’ Donuts On-the-Go ordering app which enables customers to order in advance using their mobile phone.
Customers can then skip the line and go straight to pick up when they get inside the store. Mobile orders can also be picked at the drive-thru and placed up to 24 hours in advance. Customers then confirm via the app when they are at the selected store and ready to pick up their order.
All these developments demonstrate how important offering timely online ordering and delivery is in order to meet increasing consumer expectations of a seamless experience that combines multiple channels for maximum speed and efficiency.