Uber for packages
The Wall Street Journal revealed that the online retailer is developing an “On my Way” app. In some cases, it will pay individuals for package deliveries instead of using classic courier services and postal services.
How it will work? Amazon will apparently collaborate with local retailers in urban areas to stockpile packages by renting storage or on a price per package deal. Regular consumers can then pick up those packages and deliver them to the buyer’s address. This would help Amazon gain better control over its package delivery cost, which had grown 31 % in 2014.
The idea reminds of Uber, a taxi service for individuals that has also launched a package delivery service although that has not really caught on yet. Even Google and eBay have experimented with this idea in the past. Wal-Mart, a large physical Amazon competitor, even considered using customers for package distribution in 2013. The question therefore needs to be asked why Amazon would rather develop the service itself instead of collaborating with an existing platform. Amazon has refused to comment on the news.
