Just a week after FedEx Ground announced it would offer Sunday deliveries, UPS said it plans to more than double its weekend deliveries in 2020, according to Reuters.
As Reuters points out, UPS “pioneered seven-day delivery in 2013, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and is now spending billions of dollars to speed up its free shipping.” In recent years, however, it has faced increasing competition from FedEx, as well as from Amazon. Amazon has started using its own drivers for deliveries, and often reserves the most desirable, high-density delivery routes, leaving UPS to handle rural and low volume routes.
One way to offset the challenges is by increasing the delivery volume, and is part of the motivation behind UPS’ announcement. Expanding weekend delivery also ensures UPS stays a viable option in the minds of customers who want items delivered as soon as possible.
“E-commerce spikes on the weekends, and retailers want those orders delivered sooner,” said UPS Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Warren, according to Reuters.
As the delivery market continues to heat up, it will be interesting to see if UPS and FedEx’s weekend options help them better compete with Amazon.