Consumers looking for same-day delivery of televisions, computers and other electronic items can now benefit from an expanded feature at Best Buy. The retail chain will be rolling out its same-day delivery service to 14 new cities in addition to the 13 towns where the swift delivery service is already in operation. The new feature is cited as a bid to stay on track with rivals Walmart and Amazon, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The new cities benefitting from same-day delivery when it goes into effect on Sept. 6 will include San Diego, Charlotte, Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul, among others, Best Buy reported. The company is cutting the same-day delivery fee from $14.99 to just $5.99, and a third-party service will handle the delivery portion of the program.
Best Buy initially launched its same-day delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area nearly two years ago and expanded it in 2016 to Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. By the time this year’s holiday shopping season begins, the same-day delivery service is expected to be live in nearly 40 cities.
“Our stores have always been an option, but we know that there are times when a customer wants their items delivered to them quickly,” said Allison Peterson, president of Best Buy’s online unit, in a report by Bloomberg. “By the holidays, many more customers will be able to choose same-day delivery and have it be an option on more items than ever before.”
Customers in the participating regions must place their Best Buy orders by 3 p.m., after which the order will arrive by 9 p.m. that same evening. On Sundays, the order deadline will be 2 p.m.
The news comes on the heels of a recent report announcing Best Buy’s full-year revenue growth is expected to land at 4 percent this year, beating a previous estimate which suggested it would only rise by 2.5 percent. The company’s shares beat Best Buy records last week, and electronics sales at established locations climbed 5.4 percent over the second quarter, which ended July 29.