Amazon to offer free next day delivery shipping on low cost items
Amazon is continuing to change how goods are supplied with a new announcement that there will be no minimum spend limit in order to receive next day delivery.
Prime members already receive free next day delivery on many of its products across the store but were required to spend a minimum in order to qualify for free one day delivery on any of its items under $5. Before this announcement, Amazon offered many low-priced products through its add-on service, but this has been gradually phased out a meaning that free shipping is available on all these products.
This is likely to cause issues for owners of traditional brick and mortar stores. These stores used to be “where shoppers would usually go to pick up low-cost items on short notice” but this new alterative means that customers are more likely to buy these products online rather than venturing into the store. There would be no other company that would or could offer this due to the shipping costs being so high, Sally Hubbard, an antitrust specialist, suggested when speaking to Recode. She suggested that this was a pricing strategy that is being used to “drive rivals from the market”.
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Carlsberg unveils paper beer bottle
As part of Carlsberg’s Together Towards Zero initiative, which is “a commitment to reach zero carbon emissions and a 30% reduction in its ´full-value-chain carbon footprint` by 2030”, the company has released two prototypes for a paper beer bottle.
The prototype, said to be the “world’s first”, is made from “sustainably sourced wood fibers” and will contain an “inner barrier” which will prevent the beer from leaking from the bottle. Speaking about the bottle, Myriam Shingleton, vice president group development at Carlsberg, said that “we are pleased with the progress we’ve made on the [Green Fiber Bottle] so far”. She continued that while the prototypes aren’t currently ready for market, they are “an important step towards our ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market”.
The bottle, which is developed as a part of the company’s Together Towards Zero initiative, is just one of the sustainable solutions the company has invested in. Other projects that the company has invested in to help them reach the initiatives goal include “shrink film, greener label ink and Snap Pack, which replaces the plastic packaging around its six pack cans”.
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Walmart brings delivery into your home
Walmart currently offers a grocery pickup service in 3,000 U.S. markets and delivery in over 1,000, but its new delivery service is set to change the way groceries are delivered. With the launch of its new InHome delivery services customers will be able to have their shopping delivered and put straight into their fridge following in the footsteps of Amazon, which delivers groceries through AmazonFresh.
This service removes the need for people to be in when the delivery arrives. It is achieved by having customers install a special smart lock “which allows scheduled delivery personnel to enter a customer’s home via a unique, one-time passcode”. When the delivery drivers enter the home, they fit body cameras onto their uniform so that the delivery and fridge stocking process can be recorded and live streamed.
With online grocery shopping and delivery growing steadily year on year, companies are optimizing their supply chains to satisfy customers “who may not even set foot in their stores” and by “crossing the threshold into the last yard”, this gives Walmart the opportunity to directly compete with Amazon’s AmazonFresh service .
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Have a lovely weekend!
