Kohl’s is teaming up with crowdsourced logistics company Deliv to offer shoppers in nine major markets same-day delivery options for purchases made via smartphones, tablets and desktop, showcasing how retailers are gearing up to satisfy consumer demands ahead of the holidays.

While Deliv currently powers the brand’s same-day delivery options in three metropolitan areas, a greater amount of consumers will receive access to the streamlined service ahead of the holiday season, a peak shopping time for most retailers. Kohl’s dedication to cementing its status as a mobile-friendly marketer will likely offer it a leg up when it comes to beating other retailers in the fight to grab a large share of shoppers’ wallets.

“Same-day delivery, powered by Deliv, enhances the customer shopping experience by allowing customers to receive their items whenever and wherever they want,” said Daphne Carmeli, founder and CEO of Deliv, Menlo Park, CA. “Customers simply select same-day delivery at checkout at Kohls.com.

“While other other same-day delivery services act as a middleman between retailers and their customers, Deliv partners with merchants on the back-end to power same-day delivery, ensuring that retailers maintain the critical ownership of the customer transaction and data.”

Preparing for shipping frenzies
Kohl’s and Deliv are now expanding same-day delivery to Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Brooklyn and Queens, Philadelphia and Northern New Jersey after successful rollouts in the San Francisco Bay and Chicago areas.

Consumers interested in using the platform may order products from Kohls.com on their desktop, mobile or tablet devices before choosing the same-day delivery option during checkout. The packages will then be delivered later that day.

Users will receive a tracking code from Deliv, which they may input into the online tracker on its site to view a more exact drop-off time.

This partnership expansion could significantly bolster Kohl’s mobile and digital sales. If shoppers are seeking to purchase a last-minute household item or piece of apparel, they may choose to shop via Kohls.com if they have knowledge of the same-day delivery features, as opposed to another similar retailer.

“As more and more retailers begin to offer same-day delivery, consumers’ expectation of quick/same-day delivery will become the norm – especially those who live in big metropolitan areas,” said David Naumann, director of marketing at Boston Retail Partners, Boston. “Retailers, like Kohl’s, don’t have the resources or demand to support their own private delivery network and will need to tap third-party delivery services like Deliv.

“The key challenges of conquering the last mile of commerce are scale, consistency and cost. It will be interesting to see if crowd-sourced, same-day delivery can ‘deliver’ on this promise.”

Rolling out this service ahead of the holiday season is another smart move.

While Amazon’s Prime Now delivery service remains a top threat to retailers this holiday season, the key to maintaining sales stems from offering a multitude of shipping options on mobile applications and sites so that consumers can select the method best suited to their needs (see story).

Kohl’s fans can shop via its mobile application or mobile site while on-the-go, and pick from a plethora of shipping options that will best suit their needs. Last-minute delivery will undoubtedly be a hot trend this year for individuals who leave holiday shopping to a later date.

Teaming up with third-party delivery platforms may become a must-have strategy for retailers looking to bolster sales made via mobile.

This past August, Deliv expanded into nine new markets with a 100 city reach as it looked to meet growing consumer demand for instant gratification with mobile purchases from major retailers such as Macy’s (see story).

Kohl’s mobile spotlight
Kohl’s has been ramping up its focus on mobile recently, proving that it finds smartphones and tablets to be a lucrative revenue channel.

Several weeks ago, Kohl’s introduced store mode in its mobile app so shoppers can more easily search inventory and locate in-store deals as the department store integrates with Apple Pay and Visa Checkout, underscoring the effectiveness of omnichannel approaches in driving sales (see story).

The brand will likely experience a fruitful holiday shopping season if its mobile offerings do not run into technological glitches.

“Offering shoppers added value services, such as same-day delivery via Deliv, during the holiday shopping season will help Kohl’s ‘save-the-sale’ in situations where shoppers need and/or expect immediate delivery of merchandise,” Mr. Naumann said. “During the holiday season, shoppers are time-starved and stressed.

“Anything retailers can do to make shopping less stressful will strengthen their bond with customers and increase brand loyalty.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is staff writer on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York