That makes ordering online more than the round-trip subway ride to a store and certainly more than a walk down the block. Results from a pilot test last fall spurred the launch, and so far the response has been encouraging, says Carlson. The company is banking on increased sales to subsidize the cost of speedy delivery, he says. Delivery services have long been looked down on. But he hopes that increasingly, the value of the relationship between dot-coms and outside delivery services will become clear.
Analysts agree, both that same-day is in demand and that outsourcing delivery is the way to go.
And the only cost-effective way to do it is through outsourcing, he says. The nature of books may also alleviate the pressure to deliver same-hour. Word from Amazon is that a new delivery service may be on the horizon there too, but lips are sealed for now. Should Amazon move toward faster delivery, it may face some glitches, says McQuivey. That Amazon may turn to Kozmo for delivery may prove to be a problem, too.