Consumers whose Amazon.com package doesn't arrive Saturday can look for it Sunday thanks to the company's new Sunday delivery service The Wall Street Journal reported.
"Delivery on a Sunday would be very compelling for consumers. There are certainly people who decide not to make an order on a Friday because it won't get there until Monday," Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester Research analyst told The Journal. "This has to be much more expensive than other days."
Sunday delivery will begin free of charge Nov. 17 in Los Angeles and New York, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, and Phoenix will follow in 2014.
Amazon will transport the packages to postal service locations Saturday evening or Sunday morning in order to deliver them to people's homes if they are available. These also include small distribution centers in Procter and Gamble plants where items originate when sent to customers.
"We're ready for Sunday in the current markets," a spokeswoman from the United States Postal Service told The Journal. "If this were to expand, we would look at staffing levels and adjust accordingly."
Amazon's news is the latest development in the retailer's efforts to quickly send items to consumers, and initial step to establishing a Sunday delivery service other than for the upcoming holiday season.
The company also has a grocery service in Los Angeles, and Seattle where people can get their groceries delivered to them on the day they place their order. The service offers 100,000 items other than food to complement the edible items they do buy such as frozen waffles, and tomatoes.
The Postal Service, which expects to lose $6 billion in 2012 has shut down several locations, and came close to ending Saturday delivery in order to cut costs because of a changing industry where people are sending letters, and messages electronically through e-mail, instant messaging, and social networks.
