E-commerce is making our Christmas even merrier today

San Francisco Chronicle/Carolyn Said, 12/24/13.  "Delivery services thrive as online Christmas sales surge."  

Enjoying our Christmas holiday

....  "I tell people Santa Claus isn't a big Caucasian man. He's Filipino," he said with the same cheerfulness as his fictional counterpart.   Surging e-commerce sales have been good to FedEx, as well as UPS and the  U.S. Postal Service, the nation's three major delivery systems. FedEx delivered a record-breaking 22 million packages on Dec. 2, its busiest day ever.

....  Google, UPS, FedEx, DHL and others are all reportedly looking into drone deliveries. 

....  "It's not like these things can fly for hundreds of miles. They can only go for 5 or 10 miles," she said. "That means you have to have a distribution center within 5 miles." Because those huge warehouses are located where land and labor are cheap, they simply won't show up in urban areas.

....  FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith, who has long discussed using unmanned aircraft, is even less of a fan.  FedEx's drone expert, technology chief  Rob Carter, "actually owns a drone," Smith said. "He reported that it operates (for) about eight minutes and can carry four Budweiser beers at his farm."    Read article.

Note photograph:  Yule log from  Primal meded.

Posted by Kathy Meeh