The e-commerce industry has grown expeditiously over the past decade. People who were once oblivious to the idea of online shopping or hesitant, can’t seem to get enough; and why wouldn’t they? It’s just so convenient! In 2018, eCommerce took a 14.3% share from total retail sales. However, what was more impressive was that it contributed to over 50% of retail sales growth in the US; and even though eCommerce sales are making up over 50% of overall retail sales in the United States, there is still plenty of room for it to grow. Now you may be wondering:
The e-commerce industry is a massive collection of different stores and retailers that are all competing against each other. Many of these different stores sell entirely different things, and yet under the surface, most of them use similar practices. From the same B2B model to even the same marketing strategy, you can find many similarities between these companies. However, there has to be something specific that every business, both big and small, are using to stay competitive; a key weapon of sorts; and yes there is one, called urgent delivery.
Urgent delivery and its rise in the e-commerce industry
Urgent delivery goes by many different names in the e-commerce industry. Same-day delivery, instant delivery, swift delivery, quick delivery, fast delivery, on-demand delivery, and express delivery, are all names synonymous with urgent delivery; and this express delivery model has in many ways revolutionized the eCommerce industry and has ramped up competition significantly.
So, although other significant factors help with a company’s survivability, swift delivery takes the cake. Artificial intelligence, interactive product visualization, and more advanced filtering options are just some of the features that all sorts of e-commerce companies use. However, companies don’t entirely depend on those features as much as they do on the express delivery model.
For some of the uninitiated, same-day delivery is a delivery model that prioritizes certain customers over others. It does this by sending them their order within an hour or two. Much like how the food delivery industry offers deliveries within the hour, other companies are starting to mimic this. What was once a unique selling point of a single company or common in a single industry is now making its way into everything. From retailers to service providers like plumbers and electricians, almost every company is doing it now.
Many have even attributed the recent boom in e-commerce to the impressive rise in on-demand delivery services. Also, the increase in its use has been quite astronomical.
The growth in urgent delivery services in the e-commerce industry
Urgent delivery services have very much become commonplace among nearly every company throughout the e-commerce industry. While many credits this increase in popularity to the general technological advancement, many other factors have influenced the rise in popularity of express delivery. One of those reasons being social media and its rise in popularity.
Social media has given way to an entire generation that has access to everything they want at their fingertips. From access to friends living miles away to following celebrities from any corner of the world, they have instant access to the world. So with an entire culture revolving around instant gratification, it only makes sense that companies will try to cater to that need.
Since Amazon released its Amazon prime membership that gives them urgent delivery, over 100 million people have signed up. This number is also increasing by the day. Moreover, some studies have also shown that people are willing to pay a little extra just so that they can skip the wait on their orders. This goes to show just how popular urgent delivery really is and how much people now want this. However, other than there is a need, there are also some astounding benefits to companies using the express delivery model.
Amazon’s role in the rise of urgent delivery
Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the world. The company has thousands of warehouses throughout multiple countries and can provide urgent delivery to millions; and with being the biggest retailer in the market, they are trendsetters. So whatever Amazon is doing, companies around them will have to match their service to compete in the same market.
Hence smaller companies are at a disadvantage when it comes to their as they have to compete with Amazon. However, the entire blame can’t fall on the shoulders of Amazon for this very drastic shift in the industry. Sure, they are indeed spearheading the change, but many believe that this was to come sooner or later. With the way technology was improving rapidly, experts believed that the change was inevitable. They also believed that the sheer demand from customers would have brought change among the eCommerce industry.
The benefits of express delivery services in the e-commerce industry
The e-commerce industry is a very competitive space where companies selling completely different things are competing for the same audience. This competitive nature alone puts smaller companies at somewhat of a disadvantage. They don’t have the money to invest in a grassroots urgent delivery system. Instead, they will have to get into a deal with a courier service that will help with their swift deliveries.
These companies can sometimes have a bad reputation for deliveries, which can make its way to the business. Or the company can be careless with orders and deliveries. Regardless, having to work with another company to handle deliveries can be a little bit of a nightmare.
Now reading all of this, you may be thinking that the e-commerce industry is the hunger games. Where only the richest of the companies will be able to survive, and the weak will fall. However, there are significant advantages for businesses that implement fast delivery services. Here are a few:
More convenient for customers
Although this is a benefit for customers, customer’s convenience is great for your business. A business is nothing without its customers. Unless you are selling something very unique, a customer will never give up on their convenience for you.
For example, a customer is willing to buy one of your goods and can only receive it if it comes within the hour. However, if you are not offering urgent delivery, they will move on to another seller that has it. You could see hundreds of other sales just like this because your company doesn’t offer urgent delivery services. Furthermore, this can also help with customer loyalty.
Improves customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is something that nearly every company struggles to achieve. Only a few companies like Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia have managed to establish loyal customers. Most of these companies have built a reputation over a few years, thanks to their quality products. Now smaller businesses can also do build a loyal customer base with the help of their express delivery service.
When you provide quality products within a short amount of time, consumers tend to remember something like that; then they will order more products at regular intervals. You should also not forget that good customer loyalty results in more sales.
More sales
As we said earlier, sometimes offering express delivery can save you customers that would otherwise move onto other companies. However, other than saving some of your customers, you can also significantly increase sales for your company. Since the courier company will handle orders and deliveries, you need only worry about responding to feedback and the product. So as long as the courier company is open, they will be able to deliver the product instantly. This service alone can exponentially increase the number of sales you make. Customers will also be delighted when they get their packages at their convenience, which adds to the customer loyalty significantly.
No losing packages/parcels
When using the mail to deliver your products, you honestly have faith that the package will reach its destination. The truth is, you’re better off playing roulette because they have about the same odds of you winning. The postal service loses thousands of packages every month due to how long it takes them to get to deliver. Express delivery services ensure that your customers can receive their package within a few hours of their delivery. Sometimes they can even receive their order within an hour. This saves you some money, and it can also save you, one irate customer. As you may know, an angry customer can leave a bad review.
Customers leave more positive reviews
Speaking of leaving a bad review, customers only leave a review when their product is very good or very bad. However, most customers who want to leave a review, forget by the time their delivery comes by within a week or a few days. That said, by receiving their order within a few hours or hours, they won’t forget to review. The idea of leaving a review will still be fresh in their minds, and they will be more willing to leave a review thanks to excellent service. This can reflect in more people buying your goods due to the positive reviews, which will also bring in more customers; and the circle is complete.
Low warehousing costs
Warehousing is a severe issue that smaller companies have to deal with. Even if they might have a small inventory, the small business may have to get into long deals for warehouses that they may not want. However, smaller companies can always get on-demand warehousing. This allows them to get smaller contracts and find or share warehouses for exactly the size that they need. So they pay considerably less for warehouses, and can sometimes take advantage of labour inside the warehouse. If the small business needs a larger space, they can get another on-demand warehouse.
These’re only a few of the many benefits that come as a result of companies adapting to urgent deliveries. The service gives customers a choice that they want and allows them to review and appreciate your product a lot more. However, how does this “key weapon” affect the customers. Well, they can’t seem to get enough of it.
The effect on customers
Although these urgent delivery services have been an absolute pain for companies and businesses, they have been fantastic for customers. Customers love this feature and have shown great support towards it, which has made express delivery an expectation. Customers now expect other e-commerce companies to have this feature, or they may skip them entirely. Moreover, these customers are sometimes even willing to pay a little extra so that they can get their orders faster. For example, a study showed that over 70% of people were willing to spend an additional $8-$ ten on their $60 order. This goes to show how much customers love this service in general.
This overflowing demand for immediate delivery has lead to brand new businesses that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Companies like ViaMe deliver anything as long as it fits into a vehicle to you within an hour. Other services can even pick your laundry in a few hours and drop it off within a day or two. All of these services have fundamentally changed the way customers shop.
Postmates and other fast delivery services can provide delivery fruits, vegetables, and other groceries to you within an hour. Walmart’s swift delivery system can send you hardware goods and other necessities straight to your home. In other words, customers now don’t even have to leave their house to get something and can have everything delivered to their home. So, they can concentrate on their work and other hobbies.
The future of the express delivery in the e-commerce industry
Door to door delivery, instant delivery, urgent delivery or express delivery has become the lifeline of most companies in the current age. Companies that are only selling point is that it delivers goods fast, is raking in millions every year. Studies have shown that the eCommerce industry is responsible for over 50% of all sales in the United States. Even though it contributes over half, there is still plenty of room left for it to grow.
Various companies are innovating the e-commerce industry and are making strides to improve the quality of urgent delivery services. Some companies are bringing drones to their list of riders, while others are bringing smart locks and automated cars to the mix. Some companies are making more use of automation throughout the delivery process, and others are creating more efficient algorithms to predict consumer behaviour.
All of these massive changes have either come or are making their way to the eCommerce industry. So all of these changes are sure to influence significantly consumer behaviour as well as other companies in the industry.
In conclusion, although there’re many other factors that various companies within the eCommerce industry share, urgent delivery takes the cake. It has managed to change their industry, as well as fundamentally change how consumers shop in the real world. Even if it is responsible for over 50% of retail sales across the globe, express delivery has plenty of room left for innovation.