Technology and Urban Inventory Power Ultrafast E-Commerce Delivery
Marketplaces combine products close to customers, available couriers and real-time coordination to deliver orders in 15 minutes to four hours
Delivering an online purchase in minutes requires much of the operation to be ready before the customer even checks out. Inventory near the delivery address, fast order picking and available couriers—all coordinated through technology—make ultrafast marketplace delivery possible. The competition is expanding the role of physical stores and smaller urban properties in e-commerce infrastructure.
Mercado Livre, Shopee and Amazon recently announced services offering delivery within one hour, four hours and 15 minutes, respectively. These options are limited to specific service areas and products: availability depends on the delivery address, inventory and operating conditions. The delivery windows therefore do not apply across each platform’s entire catalog.
According to Norton Canali, commercial director at Eu Entrego, a last-mile logistics platform, three factors distinguish these operations from deliveries that take one or two days: inventory location, the infrastructure for the final leg of delivery to the customer, and the technology used to manage the process.
“With ultrafast delivery, the product needs to be practically next door to the customer—in physical stores, dark stores or urban hubs,” he says.
Dark stores are facilities dedicated to picking and dispatching orders, with no in-person shopping.
For deliveries with longer lead times, Canali explains, products can be stored in large distribution centers outside major cities but close to consumer markets. This setup allows operators to consolidate shipments and plan routes that serve multiple orders. When the delivery window shrinks to minutes or a few hours, there is less time to wait for those shipments to accumulate.
Between the second and third quarters of this year, the three companies increased their combined occupied logistics warehouse space in Brazil by 9.4%, according to SiiLA’s Market Analytics data. Together, they occupy nearly 17%—16.98%—of the country’s total logistics warehouse inventory (see chart below).
Different Operations, a Shared Need for Proximity
Mercado Livre’s Envios Agora service picks up merchandise directly from the seller’s location and uses the company’s courier network. Announced in September, the service initially launched with selected sellers in parts of São Paulo, covering eligible items weighing up to 15 kilograms, or about 33 pounds. Products therefore ship from the merchant’s own inventory.
Shopee also relies on stores near the customer. According to information the company shared with the press, its Turbo service launched in August with more than 4,000 active stores, primarily in Greater São Paulo. Geolocation filters show products available nearby, while sellers determine which items qualify, their operating hours and how many orders they can handle.
Amazon Now focuses on everyday essentials, including fresh and frozen food, cleaning supplies and personal care products. Launched in March, the service announced coverage in eligible neighborhoods across eight Brazilian cities. It has its own shopping cart and checkout, separate from regular Amazon orders.
Technology Coordinates Inventory and Delivery
Physical proximity must be backed by operational capacity. Canali explains that motorcycle and bicycle couriers, along with independent delivery workers, help handle demand spikes. Technology matches the delivery window offered to the customer with the availability of couriers.
“It coordinates the promised delivery time and assigns each order to the most suitable courier in real time,” he explains.
Adapting to this model involves placing inventory close to customers, partnering with or acquiring specialized companies, and investing in technology systems. According to Canali, the model raises costs but can also encourage more frequent purchases and attract consumers who previously avoided buying certain products online because delivery took too long.
Those costs are not always passed on to shoppers through an additional delivery fee. Canali notes that they may be built into the product’s price or subsidized by the platform.
Urban Real Estate and Economic Viability
For the real estate market, the race creates opportunities to use physical stores as small distribution centers and repurpose smaller urban properties, according to Canali.
He identifies the shortage of suitable space in São Paulo as a challenge, alongside last-mile delivery costs, courier availability and urban infrastructure constraints.
In his view, the next step will be to balance speed with economic viability by offering options ranging from delivery within hours to lower-cost shipping.
“Delivering within hours takes a great deal of technology, management and planning,” he says. The ability to meet the promised delivery window will be critical to maintaining a positive customer experience and encouraging repeat purchases, he adds.
