Internet Retail

Amazon considers crowdsourced delivery system

An Amazon.com worker picks orders at an Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, Calif.
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Amazon is looking to build a crowdsourced network of drivers as it looks to speed up its drop-off service and reduce shipping costs, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In lieu of utilizing large carriers like United Parcel Service and FedEx, the online merchant is mulling a plan to hire ordinary people to make deliveries that are on the way to their destinations, WSJ reported Tuesday.

It also wants to link up with retailers in urban areas to store the packages, the news service said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Amazon will likely rent space from the retailers or pay a per-package fee, those people said.

The timing of the service, referred to internally as "On My Way," is unknown and the plan may very well fall through, according to the report. Amazon did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The plan would try to combat rising shipping costs. Amazon earlier tried a limited network in San Francisco, where Amazon-supervised contractors deliver packages around the area, but that experiment was not expanded, WSJ noted.

It has also has been extending the range of items it delivers. Last month, Amazon said users could have groceries, prepared meals and baked goods delivered to them in under an hour in Manhattan through its Amazon Prime Now service.

Users can open the Prime Now app and place an order. The one hour delivery costs $7.99; the two-hour time frame is free.

Read the full WSJ report here.

—CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.