Weekend delivery is among the shipping capabilities on Nordstrom's shopping list, an executive for the retailer said at Parcel Forum '26 in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month.
Nordstrom's faster options outside of standard shipping include delivery on the next business day and delivery in two business days, per its website. But the company is looking at ways to offer seven-day-a-week delivery through its carrier mix, and the retailer is also mulling "new entrant options who can help us achieve that at scale," Kevin Breedlove, director of customer delivery and returns at Nordstrom, said in a session focused on designing an effective parcel carrier mix.
"We think it's good for our business as well that we can drive consistent speed as best we can seven days a week," Breedlove said, according to a recording of the session shared with Supply Chain Dive. "We think that customers are going to enjoy that. They'll be more likely to come back the next time."
More carriers have begun to offer delivery services outside of standard business days in recent years to meet demand and stand out in a crowded market. OnTrac launched Saturday and Sunday delivery for most of its network in 2024. FedEx announced the expansion of its Sunday home delivery coverage in 2025, with the capability helping convince Best Buy to make FedEx its primary parcel carrier. Amazon Shipping offers pickup and delivery seven days a week.
Beyond weekend delivery, Nordstrom is also pursuing faster shipping speeds, Breedlove said. While the company is particularly focused on growing the reach of its next-day and two-day delivery capabilities, it also recently piloted a same-day offering in Los Angeles that's been successful.
Breedlove didn't provide further details on the same-day pilot. Farah Akoum, Nordstrom senior director of product management and digital shopping experience, said in a LinkedIn post earlier this month that the retailer launched same-day delivery for beauty products in Los Angeles, with orders placed by 3 p.m. dropped at customers' doorsteps by 9 p.m. Nordstrom plans to scale to new markets nationwide in the fall, Akoum added.
Nordstrom wants to improve the accuracy of the delivery timeframes it provides to customers, too, something other retailers have also prioritized lately. However, it's a balancing act, according to Breedlove: The company could achieve a very high on-time delivery rate if it was "very conservative with that promise," or it could tighten the expected delivery promise but increase the risk that a delivery is late.
"And late is always worse than early, but customers more and more are expecting precision with that promise, so that he or she can be there when the package arrives," Breedlove said.
How Nordstrom approaches its parcel carrier mix, contract talks
During the session, Nordstrom executives also detailed how the retailer navigates its carrier relationships and offered tips on how shippers can negotiate delivery contracts that align with their customers' needs.
Nordstrom uses national parcel carriers to support its pickup and delivery needs across the U.S., but the retailer also taps into regional carriers for higher-volume markets and state-specific coverage, Breedlove said.
To help gain a deeper understanding of its parcel carriers' priorities, Nordstrom holds an annual summit with delivery providers. On day one, all the carriers are gathered in the same room, "which can be a bit dicey, but we get a lot of good discussion," he said. The second day is focused on meetings with each carrier to understand their strengths and how they're going to achieve their goals over the next year, he added.
For companies looking to add new carriers to their supply chain, it's important to make sure those additional carriers can fulfill a specific niche or role for their business, Parker Bushaw, strategic sourcing manager at Nordstrom, said. He added that shippers should be able to articulate the specific reasons they're adding carriers, such as for faster speeds or to reduce shipping costs.
"Diversification for diversification's sake really isn't going to accomplish anything," Bushaw said.
Ahead of a contract negotiation with a carrier, the shipper's procurement group should have a dialogue with other relevant teams in the organization on what the priorities for the next contract should be, Bushaw said. Nordstrom outlines a priority list on what qualities are a "must have" and which ones are a "nice to have," with the end goal being to meet customers' needs rather than chasing low rates above all else, he added.
"If the goal is a two-day [delivery] promise, securing a great rate for a three-day promise is a bad deal," Bushaw said.
