In a move that may be a sign of things to come for online deliveries, French retailer Cdiscount, its delivery parters Chronopost and Stuart have announced they have developed a half hour delivery service for Cdiscount’s online shoppers.

Chronopost and Stuart (both of which are part of the La Poste Group) have released a statement that says the new half hour delivery service is to be offered to residents of Paris at first. The delivery service is done using cycle couriers.

Cdiscount already offers same-day deliveries using Chronopost in the French cities of Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Marseille.

Pierre-Yves Escarpit, Deputy General Manager of Cdiscount in charge of the Supply Chain, commented:  “After delivery on Sunday and same-day delivery, this partnership with Chronopost and Stuart allows us to expand our range of delivery solutions and offer our customers an ever more innovative and flexible offering that fits their needs.”

Given the nature of online competition, if rivals of Cdiscount choose to take the company on then it isn’t inconceivable that the offering could spread beyond the borders of France and into the likes of the UK and Germany. This is certainly something that needs to be watched – Apex Insight will report as things develop.