Amazon puts live mobile tracking feature on the map

Dive Brief:

Amazon is expanding availability of its Map Tracking feature, which allows customers to know when their expected package deliveries are nearby, according to a report from Android Police.
The mobile feature allows customers to see an update on their expected delivery when the package is within 10 delivery stops of their location. It also allows users to see the location of the delivery vehicle on a map at any given time.
The feature was first announced last fall, and was already widely available, though Amazon confirmed to CNET that the feature is now available for all packages delivered from Amazon throughout the U.S.

Dive Insight:

Amazon has come up with a lot of different ideas for making package delivery a more convenient and painless process for customers. It already provides fairly accurate delivery windows and tells you when it can guarantee a package will be delivered on a certain date. But, in the past, customers were left to wonder how early or late in the day it might show up.

Map Tracking changes all that, letting shoppers know when their package is in the neighborhood — relatively speaking. While it doesn't let you pinpoint when the delivery driver will be coming up your sidewalk, the intent seems to be to provide both transparency and reassurance to customers, which is a smart move considering that 88% of them largely shop at Amazon for the free shipping perks.

This is just one in a series of recent moves that Amazon has made to improve the delivery process for consumers, including the company's Photo on Delivery service, announced in March, under which delivery personnel take photos of packages left unattended at a customer's home. Again, the intention is focused on reassurance, accountability and a higher level of service on the delivery end.

The e-commerce giant has also released more innovative methods of package delivery as well, including Amazon Key, which allows employees to enter the customer's home, leave the package and lock the door upon exit. However, that kind of service may face a longer journey to gain the trusts of many customers, as just this March 70% of shoppers were unwilling to use the service.