Amazon has announced a new free delivery service for Bahamian customers. This service, which applies to eligible products as part of orders worth USD $49 or more, promises to enhance the shopping experience for consumers.
The initiative, celebrated by many, especially ahead of the bustling holiday season, offers what seems like a more convenient and cost-effective option for accessing a wide range of products. The promotion is an attractive promotion from one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms through DHL.
Some celebrated on social media.
Susanna Moss said, “First Jamaica, now us and I’m all for it as long as it’s either the same as the freight forwarder or cheaper.”
Andy Stevens said he will test the services and if it works as advertised he would switch from his freight forwarder. “I definitely will be trying them out before I knock it because these local shipping companies charge an arm and a leg and can’t even get your stuff here on time.”
Sedley Jean said he tried it and proved it to being inexpensive. “It is in fact much, much cheaper. It cost me much less to bring in 85 inch (television) through DHL. Only the 35% duty was collected and zero percent on the shipping and weight.”
However, this presents a challenge to local courier companies, which have long been the bridge between Bahamian consumers and their international purchases.
Industry experts suggest that local couriers and freight forwarders may have to reassess and innovate their business models.
Amazon said “Not all items are eligible for the Free Delivery promotion. Look for ‘FREE Delivery to Bahamas’ when you spend over $49 on ‘eligible items’ throughout your shopping journey.
“Once you have a cart with eligible items and exceed the threshold, you will see the ‘Free Delivery’ promotion option at checkout. The promotion is part of our continuous effort to provide greater value to our customers worldwide, and we have not announced an end date to this promotion.”