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Amazon to ship items before orders are placed

By Sarah Blackman

Online retail giant Amazon.com believes it knows its customers so well that it will start shipping items to their doors even before orders have been placed.

The company gained a patent last month for what it calls “anticipatory shipping”, a method to start delivering packages before shoppers actually purchase items, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon hopes the method will cut delivery times and discourage consumers from shopping at physical stores.

The news comes as the retailer tests unmanned drones to deliver goods to customers. Chief executive Jeff Bezos said in the December that the drones, called Octocopters, could deliver packages weighing up to 2.3kg to customers within 30 minutes of them placing an order.

The Seattle retailer has also announced that it will start Sunday deliveries in the UK for people who aren’t often at home to receive their parcels.

And now Amazon says it may box and ship products it expects customers will want, based on previous orders and wish lists, but haven’t yet ordered.

Amazon has a large watch offer with brands for sale on the website including Rotary, Tateossian, Accurist, Calvin Klein, Fossil and Ingersoll.  

 

 

 

It is not clear how Amazon will deploy the new delivery method.

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