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Key players across the industry fell in line with Amazon’s two-day shipping standard. Then, it announced free one-day shipping is on the horizon for Prime members. This requires a heavy investment with an end goal of increased sales and Prime members for Amazon. With these main goals in mind, one-day shipping will also help the marketplace giant make strides in more difficult categories. Continue reading to learn how Amazon benefits from one-day shipping and what it means for brands.

Amazon Benefits from One-Day Shipping with Expanded Market Share

Amazon has found product categories like books, apparel, and electronics, among others, to be very profitable. But, there are several categories Amazon has struggled to dominate to the same degree because of its two-day delivery standard.

Examples include:

• Grocery and Snacks

• Vitamins and Over the Counter Medicine

• Toiletries

If consumers can receive a bag of chips, mouthwash, or ibuprofen from Amazon the next day, they will be less likely to take their business elsewhere.

Large Brands Have More Opportunity with One-Day Shipping Options

Big-name brands with established distribution strategies should be able to step up to this new customer expectation. Those who already succeed on Amazon will have even happier customers thanks to more convenient shipping speed.

One-day shipping also opens the playing field to brands who haven’t been able to leverage Amazon before. Now they can profitably sell to customers this way and provide Amazon shoppers with more options.

Third-Party Resellers will have to Make Adjustments

On the other side of the spectrum, third-party resellers who often pack and ship products on their own will eventually have to adjust to compete. It’s yet to be determined exactly how this change will impact the third-party landscape.

Likewise, smaller retailers off Amazon will have a hard time providing one-day shipping with their existing resources, making Amazon’s network a solution to this new problem.

This investment and new normal driven by Amazon will change the industry for competitors and brands of all sizes. And, it makes sense why Amazon benefits from one-day shipping. It helps Amazon truly dominate the markets it once wasn’t able to. One-day shipping will also provide those who shop on Amazon a greater selection of products to choose from and at a speed hard to find anywhere else.

It’s unclear where this move will lead Amazon in the future, but those who sell on its platform will have to continue to adapt to change. Our strategists are here for brands ready to take their Amazon strategy to the next level — schedule a free consultation today.