By Ryan Breen
One of the world’s most popular companies, Amazon, is known for its quality, lower priced and easily acquired products. Amazon opened its virtual doors in 1994. Since then, Amazon created many different selling ploys in order to improve sales and customer satisfaction. The company recently implanted a new market strategy called Amazon Prime Now.
Amazon Prime Now is not available in all areas. However, if you would like to have speedy one-hour or two-hour delivery and you live in Virginia Beach, you are in luck! On their website, Amazon states, “Two-hour delivery is FREE and one-hour delivery is available in most areas for just $7.99.”
Prime Now is available from early morning to late night, seven days a week. The service is currently available in select areas including: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Orange County, Miami, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle/Eastside and Virginia Beach, according to the website.
This seems like a very practical option if you need something quick and can’t stand to wait for it. For example, did your new running shoes kick the bucket? Do not fear, you’ll have new ones within one to two hours! This will certainly make life easier and, if successful, will allow Amazon to revolutionize productivity.
This new service also allows for speedy delivery of food from your favorite restaurants in certain areas. With this being said, I can’t help but think of the potential longevity of the service. There are many factors that contribute to this service surviving including branching out to different areas, expansion of products and if the continuation of low costs.
In the comments section on Amazon.com, customers described their experiences with Prime Now. One user mentioned the limited selection of items. Another mentioned his or her excitement about the service, but reeled about the $10 suggested tip amount. Both customers seemed to think the traditional free two-day shipping was better than the Prime Now service due to the limited items and layers of additional fees. It is advised that you tip the Amazon drivers for their service, but this cannot be done in cash.
This is just the thing that I was worried about. The shipping is advertised to be $7.99. However, this is not accurate because that not include other fees, such as a tip.
I am honestly not shocked about the extra money for the tip. Just like everything, it is not always how it seems. However, is the driver being paid minimum wage? Do they just rely on tips? These factors are very important to think about. I look forward to learning more about this service and seeing if it proves to be popular.
