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Amazon, one of the biggest names in online retail, is preparing for a big holiday season. The company announced today that it is adding a new shipping option for customers, called "Local Express Delivery." What this equates to is same-day delivery.

"We want to make online shopping as convenient as possible," said Girish Lakshman, vice president of Transportation at Amazon. "We’re continuously working to speed up delivery times and customers receiving items on the same day as ordered is an exciting step. Now, if a customer needs a last-minute present for a birthday or wants a copy of their book club book before the weekend starts, they can order from Amazon instead of the hassle of a last-minute trip to the mall."

The catch for the shipping option is that it is only available in a handful of select cities. These are major US cities, however, and the option is bound to bring Amazon a great deal of extra business for the holidays, particularly from the procrastinators, who don’t have time to wait on typical shipping times, yet don’t want to brave the holiday traffic of the outside world. 

The cities where the new shipping option is available include:

- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Boston
- Washington D.C.
- Baltimore
- Las Vegas
- Seattle

Perhaps the option will be available for more areas in the future. It is certainly an attractive one, making the online shopping process much more convenient for customers if they are willing to pay for it, although members of Amazon Prime only have to pay $5.99 per item for the service. More details about shipping costs can be found here.

Amazon has also expanded its Saturday delivery options. Items ordered before the cut-off time on Thursdays (using Two-day shipping), will be delivered on Saturdays instead of Monday. Saturday is also available for those who order stuff before the cut-off on Fridays for an additional charge. The option while more costly, may also prove to be helpful to holiday shoppers.

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