Amazon to Partner With Local Small Businesses for Order Deliveries

Amazon.com plans to tap thousands of U.S. small businesses, from bodegas to florists, to deliver its packages by the end of the year, Axios is first to report. On Monday, the e-commerce giant will start actively recruiting existing small businesses in 23 states including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington. At least 20 cities across the country, including Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, will be targeted by the program. Amazon is interested in working with a wide range of small businesses, and they don't need delivery experience to make the partnership work.

Total Retail's Take: What Amazon is trying to accomplish with this program, which it has named Amazon Hub Delivery, is speed up its last mile delivery by utilizing what it lacks compared to its chief competitors: a local brick-and-mortar store network. By bringing in a network of SMB drivers to deliver its packages, Amazon is able to overcome its shortcomings related to a lack of a physical footprint. What's in it for the small businesses that sign up? According to the Axios article, while Amazon wouldn't state exactly how much it pays per package, based on earnings of $27,000 a year, the rate would be about $2.50 a package. Participating businesses would be expected to deliver an average of 30 packages a day for seven days a week. Amazon customers get their orders faster while local SMBs establish a new revenue stream. That's the vision, at least. We'll see if the execution lives up to it.