Amazon is apparently enlisting everyday humans in its network of endless online shopping delivery. The WSJ reports that the ecommerce giant is working on an app internally that would allow the average consumer to make a little cash by picking up Amazon packages at various retail locations and dropping them off at their final destination.
WSJ’s sources did not have a timeline for the release of this product, internally called ‘On My Way,’ and were unsure whether it would launch at all.
Amazon has spent years not only iterating the way it tailors your online shopping experience — the mega retailer has one of the best suggestion engines in the business — but also the way that it gets you your products with speed and convenience.
Besides the standard shipping (or two-day for Prime members), Amazon has fiddled with the idea of letting Uber drivers and yellow cabs deliver products same-day, as well as using bike messengers and third-party delivery services for Prime Now and AmazonFresh, both of which function within hours-long (and not days-long) delivery windows.
The company has even talked about launching a fleet of drones to deliver parcels, though that flight faces its own delays.
Amazon also offers its own lockers program, with pick-up stations in various locations (like parking garages) and 7Eleven stores that are rented out by Amazon. Customers can choose to have their package shipped to one of these lockers for pick-up at their convenience.
The WSJ reports that Amazon would likely use a similar logistics structure for the rumored On My Way app, letting users pick up and deliver packages from a convenient location to make some extra money.
Whether or not turning to consumers to help fight the rising cost of deliveries isn’t clear, but with a handful of huge companies and dozens of startups working on on-demand, same-day delivery, at least one match is bound to catch fire.
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