Amazon is among the businesses experiencing strong demand for Sunday deliveries according to delegates at the Delivery Conference in London this week. Customers are increasingly looking for the ultimate convenience but that does not necessarily mean they insist upon same day or next day delivery, simply instead a reliable service at the time and on the day promised and Sundays often mean that someone is home to sign for packages. AO’s John Roberts was quick to grasp this and has built a hugely successful business as a result of offering timed, swift deliveries in a sector of the market which had previously earned a dreadful reputation due to unreliability.
Many retailers have now placed the onus on the customer by pushing Click & Collect as the most convenient option. Interestingly it seems that a fairly high percentage of consumers using Click & Collect services often leave their parcels at the collection point for days on end before picking them up – even when they have expressly opted for next day.
Convenience is a judgement made by the consumer who may find it better to have a parcel delivered to the office & carry it home, or delivered to the home on an agreed day (ideally at a set time), or have it delivered for collection by him from the local petrol station or corner shop. It is important to remember that one size does not, and will not ever, fit all and that customers may change their preferences on a whim. The important thing is to be ready with the right options at the right price and then perform what is required reliably because, like it or not, delivery is one of the key factors underpinning repeat orders and developing lifetime value.
Parcel locker solutions in various guises are once again flooding the market but whilst the established service variants like InPost simply extend the convenience of Click & Collect to a 24 hour clock, most of the locker box systems are best adopted by architects for new builds or by renovators & developers of multi-occupancy buildings but they eed to be exceptionally secure to be viable as they will inevitably become sitting targets for thieves.
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