The Amazon Effect: JB Hi-Fi Now Offers Same-Day Delivery

With the news that Amazon will be storming the online-retail-gates of Australia this week, it seems JB Hi-Fi has got on the front foot and unveiled their new speedy delivery options for online customers. These new options will allow items to be delivered same day or, in some circumstances, within three hours.

Shots fired!

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Just days before Amazon Australia launches, JB Hi-Fi has listed a whole new range of delivery options for online customers that includes same day delivery and a “three hour rush” delivery option. The latter promises to get your product in your hands within three hours. The new delivery options complement the existing Standard Delivery and Express Delivery options that JB Hi-Fi have offered for some time.

The image below shows the pricing structure of the four options:

Same day delivery and three-hour rush services will be handled by a courier service. The former will cost $9.99 and the latter, $14.99. The pricing is pretty competitive, considering the same day delivery service from Amazon costs $8.99 in the US, plus $0.99 per additional item. If Amazon can forego slapping an ‘Australia Tax’ on that when they bring the service Down Under, the two services should be priced fairly similarly.

However, Amazon Prime members get these options for free if they spend more than $35 (or $5.99 for orders under $35), for a flat monthly fee. If a similar service becomes available with Amazon Australia, this would be the way to go for people ordering more than once a month. Overall, JB’s pricing structure is competitive without being revolutionary.

Interestingly, when I added a second item to my cart on JB Hi-Fi, the standard delivery pricing jumped up from $4.99 to $10.99 but the courier and express delivery prices remained the same.

According to JB Hi-Fi’s website, these options are available to “customers living in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide”. The three hour rush option is available to “City and City fringe customers living in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.” At this stage, there’s no indication on where the same-day delivery or three-hour rush options will be available exactly, but I’ve tried a few different addresses to try and nail it down.

My home address, which is on the outskirts of Sydney about 15km from the CBD, is unable to receive same day delivery or three hour rush delivery yet. Testing addresses in Redfern (4km from the CBD), Petersham (8km) and Summer Hill (10km) demonstrated the former two were eligible for the fast delivery options, but Summer Hill was not. This, for now, suggests that the limit for courier delivery is around 10km but I could not confirm this on JB Hi-Fi’s website.

There are, of course, some terms and conditions in regards to same day delivery or three hour rush delivery options. The first is that you must place your order before 1pm, Monday to Friday for same day delivery. The same-day delivery options are not available on weekends or public holidays.

With Amazon about to shake up the online retail space Down Under, this is a pretty big move for one of the country’s biggest retailers and a concerted effort to make their online offerings more appealing.

The battle begins! Your move, Amazon.