What you need to know
- FedEx is reportedly working on a new feature called Crosstrack.
- Crosstrack would be available in the company's app and allow deliveries via other couriers to be tracked alongside its own.
FedEx already lets people track the progress of shipments that are working their way through its network. But soon its app could also allow people to track what's happening with parcels being delivered via other couriers, too.
The feature, dubbed Crosstrack, isn't yet official and FedEx itself wouldn't confirm its existence to TechCrunch. But a new report cites a developer seemingly working on the app when it says that Crosstrack is in the works.
TechCrunch shared a screenshot of how the feature would likely work once made available. It's said to still be in development currently and could well change before launch.
It shows how the mobile app's search and tracking screen would be split into two tabs: one labeled "FedEx" and another labeled "Crosstrack." In the Crosstrack tab, FedEx app users could see a photo of their incoming purchase, the sender's information — like Target, eBay or Wayfair, for instance — and the date of the scheduled delivery alongside the tracking number. When the item has arrived, the app will notate this with green text and a green checkmark.
TechCrunch suggests that the move to track other couriers via the FedEx app shows how Shopify's Shop app is changing the way people track deliveries. That app pulls in shipments from other retailers and via all couriers and keeps them in one place, something countless other iPhone apps in the App Store already do. But the idea of FedEx allowing people to track deliveries from its competitors is still a stange one, even if it does now seem to be in the cards.
The development, if as described, would be interesting, as it represents the competitive pressure Shopify is having on the wider industry. As e-commerce booms, in part thanks to consumer shifts prompted by the pandemic, the ability to track all packages in one app has become a key selling point for Shop. The Shopify app today is now No. 4 in the Shopping category and has a noteworthy 4.8-star rating across some 3 million reviews, which speaks to consumer demand for this sort of offering. FedEx would do well by serving its audience with a similar feature.
FedEx itself hasn't confirmed that the Crosstrack feature exists, let alone when we can expect it to be made available for people o use.
