Just a year or two ago, two-day delivery was fast. But it’s 2020 and Amazon has same-day delivery and restaurants and grocery stores will now deliver to your door. The shipping of online transactions has changed drastically over the last few years — and small businesses not in the know could be left behind. Here are five key delivery trends small businesses need to consider.
Speed is key.
In order to compete with each other, online stores started offering faster delivery speeds. Soon enough, everyone was wanting to compete and delivery speeds jumped from a week to just days. If you can offer your customers a product faster, you could open up a lot of potential income from customers that just can’t wait — or that would buy from competitors for a faster delivery.
Services make the impossible deliveries possible.
Small businesses can’t be expected to do same-day deliveries themselves — and that’s where a service comes in. Fast food restaurants now use Doordash to deliver food to customers for a fee. Grocery stores are using companies like Shipt to shop and deliver groceries to busy customers. Explore the different options and services that would work for your business. In many cases, the customer pays for the service, ideal for busy customers willing to pay more for added convenience.
Data makes deliveries even sweeter.
When will that delivery come? Giving customers more detail on the delivery is another key to customer satisfaction. Look for a shipping service that offers advanced tracking tools — even better, one that offers an estimated delivery time and not just a date.
Free shipping is expected.
Customers comparison shop and include any shipping costs when considering who to buy from. Free shipping is becoming so common, it’s nearly standard. Most will include a minimum purchase requirement, which tends to actually encourage customers to buy more in order to reach that free shipping rate. Here’s where knowing the competition comes in handy — is a competitor offering free shipping at a lower minimum purchase than you are?
The essentials are still, well, essential.
Speed, delivery services, detailed tracking, free shipping — none of it actually matters if the order doesn’t actually get there. When working to expand your shipping to offer more convenience to customers, make sure that you aren’t missing the essentials. If the package doesn’t arrive on time or is damaged, none of that matters. Make sure to choose a shipping partner that will ensure those things, including delivery to rural or hard-to-access areas.
Delivery trends for online shipping have grown rapidly in the last few years. Look for new ways to offer customers more convenience in getting their orders, and you can open up big potential for growth.