courierservices

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.”

A new shipping company has emerged on the business front, Jet Locker on Bernard Road, Fox Hill.

Though many shipping companies exist on the island, its owner Nikoan Johnson calls his company, “fresh and unique.”

“Essentially, it’s an ATM for your packages. You can come to collect your packages, and you don’t have to see, speak or interact with any one.”

Johnson said the idea sprung up in 2019 when he wanted to participate in the growth of e-commerce in the country. He then decided to venture into courier services.

“I had never heard of parcel locker. I didn’t know what it was. But one day, after maybe two weeks, I prayed about it. I kid you not, in about sixty seconds, the idea came to me that I could use something like a locker.

“I remember my exact Google search today. I searched ‘electronic lockers for online orders.'”

Johnson said he then located suppliers and was supported by The Small Business Development Center, which led to its opening today.

Johnson is proud that Jet Locker’s main mode of delivery is by use of lockers. Customers can order items online. They are assigned a QR code which they scan to retrieve their items from the locker system, without human interaction.

ADAn automated system gives customers further support. Once a customer enters the building, they say, “Hey Google, talk to Bella for customer support.”

The programmed software named ‘Bella’ after his pet rottweiler, then responds and gives customers instructions on how to retrieve the items from the locker. The automated system answers all customer inquiries.

“She will come running to your aide.

“We will be expanding her functionality. Eventually, she will be answering the phone, taking customer phone calls, pass data, verify customer identity and retrieve the requested information from our server, all without the need for human interaction,” Johnson said.

Jet Locker is opened every day of the week from 7 am to 10 pm and is pet-friendly.

Johnson hopes to expand to other locations.

Customers can sign up for a shipping address at jetlocker.co