Amazon and USPS Are Teaming Up to Deliver Groceries

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In an unexpected partnership, Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service have teamed up for the latter to deliver AmazonFresh items to households across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. It's not the first time the two delivery services have worked in tandem, but this two-month pilot program is a larger operation that involves over 500,000 products—many of which are perishables—and a same-day time constraint.

The extra bit of business may be just what USPS needs to get its finances in order. A spokesperson tells the WSJ that the trial period allows the postal service determine the financial upside to this particular contract work. From Amazon's perspective, it's just another way to outsource its deliveries—a model that's in contrast to other retail giants' same-day delivery programs. (Walmart and Google both have their own delivery vehicles.)

As we've mentioned before, it's still unclear which model works best. In the mean time, mazel tov to Amazon and USPS on a (hopefully) happy union.
· U.S. Mail Delivers Amazon Groceries in San Francisco [The Wall Street Journal]
· Amazon to Bring Same-Day Grocery Delivery to the Bay [Racked SF]