Related to delivery options of online purchases, the main question used to be: “When?”
When can I get my order; How fast will it reach me?
However, with the rise of last-mile innovators on local markets and the global expansion of e-commerce order volume, “How?” is rapidly becoming an ever more stressing matter.
Fast deliveries has for a long time been considered the equivalent of convenience, as it testifies to high carrier performance or more flexibility since the consumer is able to plan for the delivery within their immediate time horizon.
It’s an undeniable fact that the last meters, the last-mile, is the most crucial distance according to the consumer. E-commerce is going through an interesting shift, as speed is no longer the only controllable factor of the last-mile. With the rise of last-mile innovators on local markets, “on demand” delivery options that used to be a sci-fi scenario is becoming reality.
The funny thing is, with new carrier services popping up, “on demand” isn’t necessarily the dichotomy of fast deliveries. In the new landscape of e-commerce, consumers are able to get both. The main difference is that while “When?” used to be the one question to tip the scale on whether or not to make the purchase, “How?” is in most cases becoming the superior issue.
Naturally, the relationship between “when” and “how” is controlled by the consumer’s idea of convenience. And convenience is highly variable. If the consumer actually needs a delivery as soon as possible, then ‘how’ will be the inferior question. The most important thing about a fast delivery is still that it actually reaches the consumer on the expected day, at the expected time.
Don’t miss our post on the convenient truth about convenience here.
But with an on demand delivery, how it’s delivered can actually change both when the consumer wants it and where they prefer the delivery to be dropped off. On average, the estimated time frame the consumers expect they have to wait for a delivery is 3,4 days.* Plainly speaking: there is time to satisfy them, as long as you know how to do it.
What does this mean for you as a merchant?
We know that the look-and-feel of the checkout has a big impact on conversion. Eliminating insecurities about deliveries should be a priority if you want to avoid abandoned carts. 81% of Swedish consumers state it’s important to be able to choose how are where an order is delivered, while 26% say they’ve refrained from a purchase due to insufficient options in checkout.*
It’s pretty clear to us that what consumers really want are options paired with transparency so they feel they are making informed decisions. By extension, the worry of whether unexpected problems will occur along the way is replaced by increasing excitement about their purchase, as they follow the delivery through transparent tracking.
So, as a merchant your focus should be two things:
- Checkout convenience through a varied list of delivery options
- Flexible tracking that further connects you with your consumer
Although, we reckon what you really want is to continue building a solid shopping experience on the entire website, highlighting the carefully chosen range of products you carry. What you really want is to add value to the consumers lives by conveniently sell them items that fits their needs. Evaluating how fast a fast delivery is or how fast it should be; whether or not that’s convenient enough; and if your “on demand” offering meets consumer’s demands, shouldn’t take up too much of your time.
So, for your benefit, we focus on two things:
- Checkout convenience through a varied list of delivery options
- Flexible tracking that further connects you with your consumer
Read about our Ingrid Delivery Checkout product update to see how we display delivery options in checkout for both mobile and desktop.
Traditionally, delivery offerings in e-commerce has been either fast and expensive or slow and cheap. The growth of the last-mile segment is disrupting the market and amplifying shopping behaviors. Even the most outspoken sceptics are now shopping online.
Keep your eyes on the price by scaling up your business while Ingrid keeps an ear to the ground and develops your offerings accordingly. Offering consumers the flexibility needed to adjust deliveries to their schedule, rather than the other way around, is not only a possibility today but a requirement in the future of e-commerce.
*Source: Postnord’s E-barometern Q2 2019
