Amazon has applied for a patent for what is calls, “anticipatory shipping,” a form of shipping in which the retailer can send packages before you actually make a purchase.
Essentially, the retailer would pack up and even ship items that it anticipates that a customer will buy based on their previous orders. The boxes will sit on at a shipper’s warehouse or even on a truck until the moment the customer clicks “buy.” The Wall Street Journal has the story: “The technique could cut delivery time and discourage consumers from visiting physical stores. In the patent document, Amazon says delays between ordering and receiving purchases ‘may dissuade customers from buying items from online merchants.'”
Amazon is always looking for ways to get packages to customers faster including delivering over the weekend over the holidays. In addition, the online retailer is testing using drones for same-day delivery.
