Nordstrom is leveraging the coronavirus-fueled appetite for digital shopping and same-day delivery by rolling out a service that will deliver through Christmas Eve in the New York City area, the company said in a press release on Friday (Dec. 18).
Customers can have digital orders delivered or picked up curbside, or can have merchandise rush-shipped or delivered to a store.
Same-day delivery is available in the NYC area for orders placed by 4 p.m., for a $20 fee. Customers in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. will have a wider merchandise selection for same-day and next-day pickup.
Nordstrom is also offering these services with no-charge gift wrapping and curbside returns.
All stores will be open on Christmas Eve for online order pickup, the company said.
Consumers who need help picking out a gift can consult with a shopping expert digitally. Nordstrom's shoppers will even fulfill entire lists and take care of the shipping. Some curbside customers will also receive complimentary gifts like free unlimited coffee cards, holiday Nordy Bars, Sugarfina cubes and more, the company said.
The surge in eCommerce continues to cripple logistics during a time when people are trying to avoid stores. Demand for delivery is even higher due to the holidays, with drivers scrambling to fulfill orders for everything from produce and toilet paper to holiday gifts and decorations. It was further compounded by a winter storm that tore through several states on the East Coast.
To show its appreciation to its shoppers and drivers, Instacart announced it was awarding bonuses ranging from $50 to $500 based on the number of batches shopped over the past year. Bonuses for in-store shoppers will be calculated based on the number of hours worked over the previous month.
