Out to Launch:

Amazon Prime Now to Launch in Vancouver and Toronto. Vancouver and Toronto are the only two markets in Canada that has Amazon Same Day delivery. Good E Reader

French La Poste will deliver parcels on Sunday. French postal service company La Poste will soon send parcels to online customers on Sunday. Ecommerce News

Otto offers next day delivery service for free. Online retailer Otto has further expanded its delivery service. Ecommerce News

Amazon opens shop inside Kohl’s. Kohl’s announced on Wednesday that, starting in October, it will feature a new “Amazon smart home experience” at 10 Kohl’s stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas. Retail Dive

DHL expands to four more countries in Europe. DHL has added Ireland and Romania to the network of European countries in which it operates and will add Croatia and Bulgaria in November. eDelivery

Alibaba is building a brick-and-mortar mall. Alibaba is planning to open its first brick-and-mortar mall in April at its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Business Insider

DHL piloting delivery to VW car trunks in Berlin. DHL Parcel and Volkswagen are launching a joint car trunk delivery pilot in Berlin as the delivery to trunk trend extends further. eDelivery

Industry Skinny:

Free delivery could reduce abandoned e-commerce shopping baskets. Free delivery could reduce abandoned e-commerce shopping baskets. Prolific North

Same-day delivery startup Deliv expands to 1,400 cities, rivalling Amazon’s Prime Now. As Amazon continues to expand its retail muscle beyond its own e-commerce portal, there’s been some activity among startups and businesses hoping to develop systems that can help others compete better with it. Tech Crunch

VIDEO: Best Buy and Macy’s ramp up same-day delivery in race with Amazon. Best Buy and Macy’s are each expanding their same-day delivery service to more markets as they look to keep Amazon.com and other rivals at bay. Fortune

HK’s GOGOVAN, China’s 58 Suyun follow merger with $200 million fundraising. The $1 billion logistics firm emerging from a marriage of Hong Kong startup GOGOVAN and Chinese peer 58 Suyun aims to raise up to $200 million selling shares to strategic investors to help fund expansion, GOGOVAN’s founder said in an interview. Reuters

Postmates laid off all its city managers yesterday. While one on-demand delivery startup expands this week, another is contracting a bit. Tech Crunch

Amazon Treasure Truck rolls into San Diego. eCommerce giant Amazon is cruising into San Diego with a circus-themed truck, called Treasure Truck, offering locals a potential steal of a deal on one product at a time. The San Diego Union-Tribune

Walmart opens 1,000th grocery pickup spot. Walmart on Thursday opened six grocery pickup locations in Seattle, bringing the number of such spots nationwide to 1,000, the retail giant announced in a company blog post Wednesday. Retail Dive

Amazon’s Souq acquires delivery startup. Souq, the Dubai-based e-commerce company acquired by Amazon for $580 million earlier this year, is purchasing Wing, a United Arab Emirates startup building out a same- and next-day delivery network. Business Insider

Alibaba-backed Best Logistics nears $1bn New York float. Traders again asked to bet on China logistics story despite losses on previous IPOs. Financial Times

Tech Space:

Walgreens’ mobile site slows while Amazon maintains its speed. Amazon’s mobile site remains among the fastest, even with increased traffic during its Prime Day shopping event. Digital Commerce 360

New technology to protect delivery drones from grocery thieves. It’s a problem only the 21st century could bring: how to stop people nicking their neighbour’s groceries from a self-driving delivery drone. Standard

UPS set to begin VR training program to prepare drivers for hazards on the road. UPS is turning to virtual reality to train drivers. Daily Mail

Mobile payments could revive cash on delivery. Credit card payments can now be accepted on small terminals wherever there’s a mobile phone signal. Practical Ecommerce

Domino’s and Ford to test self-driving pizza delivery service. The partnership will be part of Ford’s research into how customers respond and interact with self-driving vehicles. Read Write

Metapack urges market to take advantage of rapid checkout as Amazon 1-Click patent expires. Metapack says that retailers and brands should move quickly to adopt a one stage checkout facility with the expiration on Tuesday 12 September of the Amazon 1-Click patent. eDelivery

Tech Space:

Has disruption from e-commerce run its course? Alibaba’s Jack Ma has put it bluntly: “We must embrace physical space.” Medium

The persuasive power of parcel packaging is stronger than you think. Two new studies this week show how important packaging and labels are to customers in terms of their perception of a retail brand. eDelivery

E-commerce Average Order Value Infographic. What’s the average order value in e-commerce? Medium