Next-Day Delivery and Same-Day Delivery

Posted on October 2, 2017 by bermanevansretail

Next-day delivery and same-day delivery are hot shipping topics. And they impact shopping. Their use will grow for the foreseeable future.

 

Background

For a long time, buyers knew mail and deliveries would take days or weeks. In fact, the U.S. Postal Service dates to 1775! Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster General. Due to limited shipping options, mail and package delivery were slow.

In the past 110 years, the USPS has gained a lot of competition. Two of the best-known private delivery firms are UPS and Fed Ex. UPS started in 1907, Fed Ex in 1971.

In 1964, Xerox introduced LDX (Long Distance Xerography). This was the first “commercial” fax machine. It worked over phones. Fax use soared with the development of faster-speed modems. Today, faxes are largely replaced by E-mail, texts, and other online formats.

In terms of package delivery, three trends dominate. (1) Higher-speed shipping modes exist. (2)Other firms emulate the Fed Ex hub-and-spoke regional network system. (3) Resellers such as Amazon have their own regional warehouses.

 

Adding Delivery Options

Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, delivery options rose.

In particular, consumers could choose from three options. Regular delivery. 3-5 business day delivery. And 1-2 business day delivery. USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex — respectively — were the leaders for each of these options.

But in 2005, Amazon disrupted consumer delivery expectations. It introduced Amazon Prime. J.P. Mangalindan reports for Fortune. “Amazon Prime aimed to get customers to increase spending. For $79 a year, members got free two-day delivery on unlimited items.”

And wow, Amazon Prime has grown. For instance, see the chart from Statista and Business Insider. Note: Today’s annual cost is $99. It includes streaming video and other services. U.S. Amazon Prime members total 85 million in 2017.

 

Next-Day Delivery. Same-Day Delivery. Emerging. Launched in 2005, Amazon Prime aimed to get customers to spend more. For $79 a year, members got free two-day delivery on an unlimited number of items. Amazon sweetened the pot from there.

 

Next-Day Delivery and Same-Day Delivery

In recent years, delivery options have further evolved. Next-day delivery and same-day delivery are key choices.

USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex pioneered next-day delivery. Today, express mail service (EMS) exists in 190 countries. EMS promises delivery in as little as 1 day. In the U.S., EMS takes 1-2 days. EMS has earned a strong following. Remember, Amazon Prime promotes 1-2 day delivery. It relies on USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex. But, Amazon keeps adding its own delivery services.

Years ago, same-day delivery started at the local level. Think food delivery and prescription delivery. It took time for large firms to see the advantages. In addition, big firms found same-day delivery costs to be too high.

20 years ago, Webvan (an online grocer) began same-day delivery. It started in 1996 and went bankrupt in 2001. At its peak, Webvan served 10 U.S. cities. Most were in California. Due to high expenses, Webvan had lost $800+ million. On the other hand, we have Peapod (founded in 1989). It works with its chain supermarkets to deliver locally. It is successful.

To summarize, same-day delivery is HOT! For example, these illustrate same-day delivery services.

 

Delivery and the On-Demand Economy

In short, delivery options transform shopping. At the same time, consumer expectations soar. At any rate, we are in the on-demand economy. To this end: See it. Want it. Buy it. Then, get it immediately. All in all, no matter where we shop.

According to Robert Memery of 2flow, an Irish logistics firm:

“I have produced an infographic analyzing the on-demand economy. It offers advice to firm about short delivery times. This is important if they want to keep happy. 43% of shoppers report post-delivery satisfaction is influenced by whether purchases were delivered on-time? Same-day or next-day delivery might not be possible for some firm. But, it’s vital that all firm try to reduce delivery times. Long delivery times are a killer.”

Look at the infographic for a number of insights.

Next-Day Delivery. Same-Day Delivery. In short, delivery options are transforming. At the same time, consumer expectations soar. At any rate, we are in the on-demand economy. To this end: See it. Want it. Buy it. Then, get it immediately. All in all, no matter where we shop.

Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Engineering a Great Retail Customer Experience

Posted on September 28, 2017 by bermanevansretail

In 2017, we have presented several posts on the retail experience. The topic is that important! Here are some of these posts:

Today, we offer some new insights from Kali Hawlk, writing for Shopify:

“The products in your retail store speak for themselves. That’s all the experience your customers need: the joy and delight of interacting with the incredible items that line your (physical or digital) shelves. Many retailers slip into this line of thinking and then get stuck. As Doug Stephens pointed out in a blog post on his site, Retail Prophet, ‘most retailers assume customer experience is primarily an aesthetic concept and more about how stores and Web sites look and feel’ than anything else. Settling for this definition of retail experience will limit your brand and cause you to miss out on opportunities to craft something truly great for customers. Retailers and in-person sellers both big and small have the opportunity to create memorable, immersive experiences for their customers.”

These are Stephens’ five main considerations in offering a great customer experience:

  1. “Engaging — Find ways to engage with customers—both where they’re at, in the store, and everywhere in between (like the Internet). If you’re not sure what would engage shoppers, start by building a customer persona to better understand their preferences and pain points you could address.”
  2. “Unique —  Think outside the box to provide something that no other brand gives to shoppers. From your signage or logo to the colors you use or the music you pipe through the speakers, a uniquely branded experience makes a lasting impression.”
  3. “Personalized — You could customize loyalty programs or create curated collections and special pop-up shops to tailor to specific customer needs and wants to design highly personalized experiences.”
  4. “Surprising: Brush up on your consumer behavioral psychology to engineer experiences designed to provide something expected (and hopefully delightful).”
  5. “Repeatable: A customer experience can fall flat if it’s just a one-time, happenstance occurrence. Make sure you create processes you can use to give every customer the experience you design, every time they interact with your brand.”

 

Click the image to learn more.


 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

UPS to Aid Retailers in Return Process

Posted on September 27, 2017 by bermanevansretail

Many firms not named Amazon are looking for a way to greatly improve the customer return process. Now, UPS comes to the rescue.

As Andria Cheng reports for eMarketer:

“In retailers’ fight against Amazon, it looks like there is a new weapon that could help level the playing field against the online retail giant. UPS has introduced UPS Returns Manager, a free online tool that allows E-commerce retailers, especially less well-resourced small- and medium-sized merchants, to not only customize their own shipment rules, but also manage return shipments without having to integrate their own IT systems.”

“For consumers, who in the past had to go to a retailer’s Web site to print a return label or use a label retailers include in package boxes, the feature allows them to print a return shipping label directly from UPS.com’s tracking page both on desktop and mobile devices and through E-mail alerts. Consumers can also print return labels at The UPS Store locations at no additional cost.”

“Why is this relevant? Retailers want to please increasingly demanding customers. Thus, the ability to meet the expectations of consumers accustomed to straightforward returns with retailers like Amazon can potentially affect their purchase decision. It also gives retailers a better view of what’s being returned. Some retailers can cut costs by skipping the need to place pre-printed return labels in each box.”

 

Click the image to read more.

New UPS online return manager. It's for small and medium firms to better compete with Amazon.
 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment