Apple Shipping Products from Retail Stores for Faster Deliveries in Canada

According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple is starting to ship products from its network of Apple Stores to help speed up deliveries in Canada and the USA.

Normally, devices such as Apple’s iPhone, iPad, Mac and other accessories are shipped from warehouses or directly from China. But a new policy has changed this, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

“Now items that are in stock can be shipped directly to consumers from a network of almost 300 retail stores spread across the U.S. and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter,” reports Gurman.

In Canada, Apple is using UPS for deliveries, which may arrive as soon as one day after orders are placed. Shipping from retail stores will allow for faster deliveries to customers who live further away from distribution centres. Sources note, “the program will apply to customers who live within 100 miles from a store.”

The new delivery system was beta tested during the summer at a small number of stores, but not all stores in the U.S. and Canada are part of this just yet. Apple told staff the change helps lower costs, could improve product margins and is environmentally friendly.

Apple’s operations team will decide whether an order is shipped from an Apple Store or not, with customers unable to choose the option.

With some Apple retail stores now turning into shipping centres for online orders, the company can continue to sell products during COVID-19 lockdowns. Some stores already have back rooms turned into smaller call centres, joining some Apple Store employees who have been working from home as online support and sales staff.