How same-day delivery will help you attract the elusive Millennials
Nearly two-thirds of Millennials admit that fast deliveries are a major factor when it comes to online shopping.
According to research from eBay Enterprise and Imperial College Business School, 65% of UK shoppers between 18 and 34, are more likely to buy from an online retailer that offers convenient delivery over one that did not. 74% even said convenience is the single most important factor when choosing between retailers.
Millennials move fast, and they expect the world to keep up. To stay relevant, retailers will have to embrace fast delivery.
The untapped gold-mine of on-demand delivery
On-demand (same-day) delivery is an untapped gold mine for today’s retailers, and we’re not talking about the online ones.
Research from MetaPack indicates that 78% of European Millennial consumers have bought goods from one retailer over another because they provided more delivery options. More importantly, they found that 69% would be happy to pay more for a better or more convenient delivery option.
Because of this, online mega marts like ASOS and Amazon have claimed a near-monopoly over the younger generation, thanks in large part to their speed and convenience.
But, while these online megastores may be able to provide fast delivery, it’s unlikely they will ever be able to do on demand delivery. They simply don’t have enough products in enough places, favouring instead, huge warehouses.
This presents a unique opportunity for brick and mortar stores to offer something these purely online brands can’t. Near instant gratification.
Click-and-collect isn’t enough
Is travelling to a store to collect an order really convenient? It turns out many Millennials think it isn’t. That same ICB study found that only 38% of Millennials use click-and-collect compared to the 79% that use delivery.
With the click-and-collect model, consumers still have to leave their homes and travel to at least one (sometimes multiple) different locations to collect their goods — all within the timeframes dictated by the retailers.
That is not the Millennial way. They’ve learned to expect more.
The thing is, on demand delivery is really nothing new. Restaurants have been delivering food within the hour for years. And now, with startups like Deliveroo and Just Eat on the scene, they don’t even have to provide their own fleet.
This means that customer expectations of convenience are already set. If the curry house in Brick Lane can cook and deliver a chicken Jalfrezi in less than 45 minutes, why can’t Topshop put a dress in a box and deliver it in the same timeframe?
It’s clear there’s a massive disconnect between consumer expectations and retailers’ ability to meet them. And yet, not a single high street retailer has managed to capitalise on this gap in the market.
Today’s competitive advantage is tomorrow’s necessity
In today’s market on-demand delivery can be a way to stand out from the crowd, but soon it will be a necessity. According to that same MetaPack study, 44% of Millennials said that they’d failed to complete an online order because delivery would take too long. Retailers that do not offer a choice of delivery options are essentially leaving money on the table.
The spending power of Millennials is only going to increase. By 2025 they will make up 75% of the global workforce.
Any savvy retailer will tell you that to truly win over an audience, you should aim to meet their needs now to grow their market share in the medium term. If retailers want to secure the loyalty of Millennials, they need to start now and ensure a first class quality of service and a wide range of delivery options are available.
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