Amazon Offers Many Ways to Keep Gifts as A Surprise This Holiday Season

With the 2020 holiday season becoming more of an online affair due to the COVID pandemic, Amazon still wants to keep the holiday season special and help make sure those gifting moments stay ‘spoiler free’ by offering options for customers to keep gifts a surprise, as well as track and receive Amazon orders.

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“This year many customers and their families are opting to stay home so the challenge of keeping those special gifts under wraps from family, friends or loved ones is going to be greater than ever,” explains John Felton, Vice President of Amazon Global Delivery Services.

“We’re helping customers keep their orders a surprise this year and have a number of ways we’re providing them more flexibility, control and convenience over their deliveries—whether that’s ordering to an alternative pickup location, tracking their package en route to their home, or consolidating their deliveries to a single day so they can plan ahead.”

During this holiday season, and year-round, Amazon offers customers a variety of ‘spoiler free’ ways to track, pick up, and have packages delivered in and out of the home—each of which is powered by incredible employees coming together to deliver magical experiences for customers.

Tracking Deliveries And See Where A Package Is Delivered

Amazon Map Tracking lets customers view the progress of their delivery on a map in real-time when the driver is close. The feature enables customers to see the remaining number of stops a driver has before their delivery arrives.

Amazon Share Tracking gives customers the option to send tracking information to friends or family, so they know when to expect their package and bring their delivery indoors.

Once the package ships, Amazon customers can go to ‘Your Orders’ on the Amazon app, select their purchased item, and tap on the ‘Share Tracking’ feature on the tracking page.

Once selected, customers can easily send a link to the tracking information via SMS, email, or messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

If the customer marks the item as a gift at checkout, once ‘Share Tracking’ is sent, the recipient can also virtually ‘unbox’ the item, send a thank you email, and more—right from the Amazon app.

Amazon Photo-On-Delivery provides visual delivery confirmation, showing customers that their package was delivered and where it was placed by the driver.

Capturing delivery photos helps customers see that their package was safely delivered to their selected location and serves as a notification to customers who wish to minimize the time a package is left unattended.

Amazon Estimated Delivery Window provides customers with a 2-4 hour estimated delivery window. By providing a delivery window, customers are able to plan their day and, if desired, ensure they will be home to receive their delivery.

In the U.S., Amazon’s Map Tracking, Share Tracking, Photo-On-Delivery, and Estimated Delivery Window features are available for packages delivered by Amazon.

Customers can access these convenient features from their Amazon app by enabling shipment notifications.

Consolidating Deliveries With Amazon Day

Amazon Day is a free and convenient delivery option available to Prime members in the U.S. Prime members can choose to receive all of their orders on one day of the week, often in fewer boxes, reducing the number of packages and deliveries.

This makes it easier to protect holiday surprises from being discovered by members in the household. Eligible items can typically be ordered for Amazon Day delivery up to two days before a customer’s chosen day.

Keep Gifts A Surprise At Home With Garage Delivery Via Key By Amazon

Customers worried about keeping packages safe or potential weather damage from snow, heat or rain, can take advantage of Key In-Garage Delivery.

This delivery option lets eligible Prime members with a myQ smart garage door opener receive packages securely inside their garage.

Customers simply link their myQ app with the Key by Amazon app and then select this delivery option during checkout.

Once their package is delivered, customers will receive a notification via the Key by Amazon app or the Amazon app—whichever they prefer.

New this holiday season, Key by Amazon In-Garage Delivery has now expanded to Prime members in over 4,000 cities and towns across the U.S.

Deliver To Alternative Location

Amazon offers customers a variety of options to have their packages delivered this holiday season including alternative delivery locations in more than 900 cities and towns across the U.S.

This network of easy, convenient, and contactless package pickup options—via Amazon Hub—offers customers either an attended or unattended experience in neighborhoods, cities and college campuses.

Amazon Hub is available for tens of millions of items sold on Amazon.com at no additional cost with the same fast shipping as home delivery, including FREE Prime Same-Day, One-Day and Two-Day shipping.

Non-Prime members can also get FREE shipping for orders over $25; otherwise, standard shipping rates apply.

New this holiday season, customers can also enjoy the experience of hunting for great gifts and holiday deals while picking up their Amazon.com holiday order by selecting an Amazon 4-star or Amazon Books location as their delivery location.

Prime members can also get FREE Same-Day shipping with no minimum purchase amount required this year.

To deliver to an Amazon physical retail store or an Amazon Hub location, customers search and select the most convenient location for them when prompted at checkout.

Once their package has been delivered, customers will receive an email notification with details about how and where to pick it up.

Customers then simply visit their selected Amazon Hub location to collect their packages. Customers have between three and 15 days to pick up their order depending on the Amazon Hub or Amazon physical retail location.

Keep Alexa Silent

To prevent a friend, family member or loved one from spoiling their surprise, Alexa will hide the names of items that might be gifts—even if a customer asks, “Where’s my stuff?” or checks their delivery update notifications.

Customers can also mark an item as a gift during checkout and Alexa will not reveal the names of the items either.

Customers who want to be extra cautious about keeping those gifts under wraps or are worried they might forget to mark an item as a gift during checkout can also change their settings for item names in the Alexa app to hide all titles.

Amazon Wants Shoppers To Keep The Joy Of The Holiday Season

With the COVID pandemic surging all over the U.S. and globally, Amazon is likely going to have another record-breaking holiday season.

These delivery suggestions are a good reminder to its customers that there are many ways to keep gifts as a surprise and maintain the joy of the season.