Souq.com has launched same-day delivery service in Saudi becoming the first ecommerce company in the country to do so, the Amazon-owned company announced in a statement last week, adding that the service will provide same-day delivery for ‘Fuliflled by Souq’ (FBS) products in Riyadh and Jeddah.
The same-day delivery is available as a paid service with customers being required to pay SAR 24 (~USD 6.5) to have their orders delivered on the same day. As Souq is charging a fee for it, there’s no minimum order requirement but the customers must place their orders before 12 PM to be able to use the same-day delivery option.
The company offers free next-day delivery on a large number of its ‘Fulfilled by Souq’ products so the customers have this option of saving SAR 24 if they can wait for a day. Noon also offers free next-day delivery on the product fulfilled by them, in Saudi.
Souq’s same-day delivery launch comes almost three months after Amazon launched its premium subscription service Amazon Prime in UAE offering customers free next-day delivery on Prime eligible selection with no minimum purchase, discounted same-day delivery, and a lot of other things including access to Amazon’s SVOD platform Prime Video.
All of this is bundled in a monthly subscription that costs AED 16 (USD 4.4). Saudi consumers apparently will have to wait further before Souq gets rebranded to Amazon and eventually launches Prime there as well.
Saleem Hammad, General Manager for Souq.com Saudi, in a statement said, “We believe that deploying innovation that allows for same-day delivery is a significant step forward for the region, allowing customers to choose from a large assortment of products and categories at the quickest turnaround. This coupled with the ease of use on our app and website further make our customers’ online shopping experience even more seamless and enjoyable.”
