Macy's is rolling out a free same-day delivery pilot program in 30 markets beginning on 1 October for qualifying purchases of $75 or more, for a limited time -however no timeline has been given for when the free option will end. Orders placed Monday through Saturday by noon local time, or 10 a.m. local time on Sunday, will be delivered the same day through an existing partnership with Deliv.

In 2014, Macy's launched same-day delivery with a fee in five markets for a limited selection of products. By 2017, the retailer had expanded same-day delivery to 33 markets, but the overall service underperformed. The new program covers "hundreds of thousands of products."

Similar to Walmart, Macy's played up the fact that shoppers do not need to be part of a paid subscription program like Amazon Prime to qualify for free deliveries.

Jill Ramsey, Macy's chief product and digital revenue officer, said Over the last two years, we've made significant investments in new technology in our stores and on our website that have given us the ability to better serve our customer's needs."

In the second quarter, Macy's reported its fortieth consecutive quarter of double-digit e-commerce growth.

Macy's relaunch comes as retailers are pushing the accelerator on speedier deliveries.