Amazon today started offering free same-day delivery to members of its Prime loyalty scheme in the UK while UPS revealed details of its peak season planning in Britain.
Amazon.co.uk announced the launch of ‘Prime Same Day’, offering Prime members free same-day delivery on one million items. The service is now available in Greater London and parts of nearby Hertfordshire and Berkshire, and will expand into a number of other areas of the UK in the coming months.
Prime members who place an order for same-day delivery by noon, on any day of the week, will receive their delivery between 6pm and 10pm on that same evening. There is no minimum order value and a wide range of items are available, according to the company. Same-day delivery is also available for non-Prime customers at a cost of £9.99 per order.
The service is available to residential addresses within the M25 motorway, as well as AL, HP and SL postcodes.
“We know how important speed of delivery is to our Prime customers and we’ve been continuing to invest in our delivery network to offer even more fast delivery options. We are excited to launch our newest benefit for Prime members – free same-day delivery on one million items. This is on top of all the other Prime benefits, like unlimited streaming of movies and music, unlimited photo storage and more,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk.
Prime members can find and purchase products for same-day delivery on Amazon.co.uk, whether they’re using their PC, tablet or mobile device. Members can simply look for the Prime Same Day logo on eligible items, add these items to their shopping basket, and then choose the FREE Same Day option at checkout. Alternatively, members can tick the new Prime Same Day check box located in the filter menu while browsing or after performing a search.
Amazon said that the choice of fast delivery services for Prime customers now includes:
* Prime Now: Members can choose delivery to selected London and Birmingham postcodes within one hour of ordering for £6.99, or free delivery within a choice of two-hour delivery windows between 8am and midnight the same day, seven days a week on thousands of daily essentials, gifts and more
* Prime Same Day: Members can order before noon for same-day delivery on one million items, seven days a week, to addresses in Greater London and AL, HP and SL postcodes
* Prime One Day: Members across the UK continue to enjoy unlimited one-day delivery on millions of items across all product categories
Prime Now and Prime Same Day are made available through Amazon Logistics, which empowers independent local, regional and national delivery companies across the UK to deliver Amazon parcels to customers seven days a week.
Meanwhile, UPS UK expects to hire 1,300 driver helpers to support the anticipated increase in package volume that will begin in November and will continue through January 2016. Seasonal staff are often taken on as employees, with all the associated benefits.
"With the usual increase in online shopping during this period, hiring an additional 1,300 driver helpers will help ensure that we are appropriately staffed to meet our customers' needs this Christmas,” said Luis Arriaga, Managing Director, UPS UK and Ireland.
UPS in the UK has approximately 8,000 permanent employees, operates 57 facilities, and has a fleet of more than 2,200 vehicles across the country.
