According to Bloomberg for the first time, Amazon is piloting a plan to let its contracted flex drivers pick up goods and deliver packages in shopping malls. Amazon has implemented this plan since last year, which can help it deliver orders to customers within the same day or two days It is not entirely clear where Amazon is testing. The driver who introduced the program to Bloomberg mentioned picking up packages from shopping malls in Chandler, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada and Cape Tyson, Virginia.
"This is just another way for us to connect Amazon sellers with customers through convenient delivery," Amazon spokesman Lauren Samaha said in an email statement Samaha added that only a few sellers participated in the plan, but did not specify which sellers.
Like instacart or doordash drivers, Amazon flex drivers use their own vehicles to transport packages. They usually pick up packages from Amazon's distribution stations, but they can also choose to pick up packages from local stores, which Samaha says has been going on for years. Store delivery works the same way, except that the driver will go to the store in the local shopping center to collect the package.
Earlier this month, vox reported that Amazon had been quietly testing a delivery service to pay rural mother and baby stores to deliver packages for the company. To some extent, the parcel is delivered by local workers within 10 miles, a little like a day. Amazon used to rely on the U.S. Postal Service and UPS for final delivery, that is, the package actually arrived at the door of the customer's home, but handing this work to the local store can reduce the demand for the two services of the postal system and express companies.
Amazon is also looking for other transportation services to conquer third-party websites. In April, Amazon began to let merchants who have stored goods in Amazon's warehouse add the "buy with prime" button on its website. This allows customers to gain the advantage of prime transportation when shopping outside Amazon, and also allows Amazon's growing compliance department to obtain more business.