What if these packages got to you before you ordered them? REUTERS/Ralph D. Freso Amazon patented a system in December that will reduce logistics costs and dissuade customers from ever entering a physical store again by shipping your stuff before you order it, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon software will predict when a customer will order an item, then push it through Amazon's shipping process. Packed orders would wait at shipping hubs until a customer's order arrives.

At this point, it can be dispatched to the customer's address far more quickly. It's a system aptly called "anticipatory shipping."

Keep in mind this is just a patent and Amazon hasn't announced any plans to implement such a service. But it does give us a hint at Amazon's thinking when it comes to getting stuff to you faster.

The 27-page patent is loaded with technical details that you can peruse at your convenience here.