Next day delivery is yesterday's news - at least for Chinese retailer Jingdong, the country's answer to Amazon.
The online store has launched a three hour delivery option in what is claimed to be the fastest in China - and most other countries, we suspect. What's interesting is that Jingdong, which trades as JD.com, is not a luxury goods retailer catering for the elite but a general merchandise retailer selling everything from t-shirts to toys.
Amazon and others have been trying to cut delivery times but struggling to weigh cost against demand. Most UK retailers would struggle to guarantee your order would reach you the next day. Some niche or high-end sites may have bespoke services offering fast delivery but there are none that could complete with the scope of Jingdong's strategy.
Jingdong's shoppers who are desperate to track the progress of their beloved products can monitor its journey in real time on a map and even call the driver. The service is now in six cities covering 80 million people.
As well as the three hour option launched by Jingdong, formerly called 360buy, a night-time service allows shoppers to make their orders by 3am and receive them between 7am and 10am.
The service is part of a war for dominance between Jingdong and Chinese internet behemoth Alibaba which owns vendor platforms Taobao and Tmail. Last year Jingdong began recruiting its own force of bikes and delivery vans and is keen to use the advantage over Alibaba as well as the fact that it, unlike its rival, owns its own stock rather than selling through vendors like eBay.
The online store has launched a three hour delivery option in what is claimed to be the fastest in China - and most other countries, we suspect. What's interesting is that Jingdong, which trades as JD.com, is not a luxury goods retailer catering for the elite but a general merchandise retailer selling everything from t-shirts to toys.
Amazon and others have been trying to cut delivery times but struggling to weigh cost against demand. Most UK retailers would struggle to guarantee your order would reach you the next day. Some niche or high-end sites may have bespoke services offering fast delivery but there are none that could complete with the scope of Jingdong's strategy.
Jingdong's shoppers who are desperate to track the progress of their beloved products can monitor its journey in real time on a map and even call the driver. The service is now in six cities covering 80 million people.
As well as the three hour option launched by Jingdong, formerly called 360buy, a night-time service allows shoppers to make their orders by 3am and receive them between 7am and 10am.
The service is part of a war for dominance between Jingdong and Chinese internet behemoth Alibaba which owns vendor platforms Taobao and Tmail. Last year Jingdong began recruiting its own force of bikes and delivery vans and is keen to use the advantage over Alibaba as well as the fact that it, unlike its rival, owns its own stock rather than selling through vendors like eBay.
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