Sent Items #153: Sunday, April 28, 2024

Happy almost May Day! 

It sure feels like it here in Nashville where we have suddenly hit the consistent 80+ degree days, and it’s still April. 

It’s still the weekend so I’ll keep it short. 

Hard not to begin with some Amazon news… 

Last night when checking out my cart for some Ant Raid (yes, they’re coming out with these warmer days!) I noticed for the first time Amazon presenting day specific delivery options that extend 8 days out.  (see my post on X/Twitter here)

Might seem like a small UI change, but it’s something I’ve wished many times would be possible. On a number of occasions I’ve struggled to determine what day I should place an order to ensure it arrives the day I return home. Any earlier, and it might get stolen - any later, and I’m out of something I need. So this experience solves that pain by enabling delivery any of the following 8 calendar days, it seems. Like subscription, I’m sure this is a positive change for Amazon Ops as they are able to better plan labor against pent-up orders.

At this point, what stops them from taking an order for delivery at a date even further out (e.g. Christmas). I suppose stock outs could be a problem, but I assume they only have this enabled for their highest velocity SKUs where constant supply isn’t an issue. Probably a similar overlap with their Subscribe & Save catalog, which is essentially a similar “commit now, deliver in the future” premise. 

I call it Buy Now Deliver Later, or “BNDL”.

In other related Amazon news, last week they rolled out a new pricing structure for Grocery. For $9.99 a month you can get free, unlimited, Fresh and Whole Foods deliveries with carts > $35. Previously Fresh delivery was only free above $100, and Whole Foods was $9.99 regardless of basket size. A far more approachable entry point signaling they once again have an interest in Grocery and/or they finally figured out the economic model ($9.99/mo) that makes a little more sense! What’s another $120/yr to the Amazon machine 😬😄

In the end, it’s all about Prime stickiness. These are two new features that make Prime just a little stickier for me.

Before I get into the headlines just another reminder that last month I launched a new business called Third Person, a digital marketplace that enables eCommerce brands to discover and engage with 3PLs (i.e. fulfillment providers). It’s a completely new way for brands to find the right 3PL, receive personalized matches, review 3PL profiles and connect with them (and it’s free!)

If you are a brand looking for your first or next 3PL, sign up here (link).

If you are a 3PL, you can enroll on the platform here (link).

Just one headline I wanted to cover this week…

Shein’s China-U.S. Imports Boost Flexport Amazon’s Secret Operation to Gather Intel on Rivals (link)

• Shein, which is based in Singapore but was founded in China, is an online retailer of value-priced fashion and lifestyle items that holds the biggest share (about 40%) of fast-fashion spend in the U.S. 

• As of March, Flexport was arranging two Boeing 747 flights each week filled with goods sold by Shein and headed for its U.S. buyers, according to a source at Flexport. The flights from China to Los Angeles were part of a significant air freight deal Flexport and Shein have been ramping up since late 2023.

• Though Shein didn’t wind up buying Flexport’s fulfillment services directly, it is helping Flexport pitch fulfillment to other, smaller merchants that sign up to sell their goods on Shein’s website. 

• Shein first opened its U.S. site to outside sellers in May, and it has named Flexport its preferred logistics partner. The two companies started promoting the partnership last week. Flexport already offers similar services for merchants that sell through Shopify-hosted stores and marketplaces like Walmart and eBay.

• Flexport is aiming to turn the fulfillment business profitable by the end of 2024. A big question mark is how quickly a project that aims to lower costs will pay off. Flexport has been working on migrating it’s inherited Deliverr customers into its own first-party warehouses, totaling roughly 5 million square feet of space, to reduce its reliance on other companies for warehouse space. That is, to avoid becoming a 4PL (see my thoughts on that model in the last issue of Sent Items here (link).

• Speaking of Shein, here’s a great piece from the Guardian, titled, ‘Super cute please like’: the unstoppable rise of Shein. You can read it here (link).

Keeping it short as it’s the weekend. More juice in next issue!

- Matt

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