These Promising Delivery Trends will Get You Excited about Online Shopping Lifestyle

People currently shop offline for a whole lot of different reasons such as taking away your bought goods on the same day itself, asking for help from shop assistants, touching and feeling products – especially clothes, and not needing to pay any delivery charges. The ecommerce industry addresses these issues to entice more customers to do more of their shopping online.

One most pressing reason why people prefer to shop offline is the vexed issue of delivery. People cannot wait a couple of days for products to arrive if they could visit a store and get it immediately. E-commerce is a robust force. Because of its bludgeoning growth, we have witnessed some amazing changes in the logistics business, as carriers have had to adapt to new delivery mechanisms and economy. The important future trends for the coming few years will be in faster shipping of goods and customized delivery for buyers, apart from these novel trends;

1) Same Day Delivery

Many brands offer next day delivery, but the trend of same day delivery is set to become the norm soon enough. Research concludes that consumers will dish out more money for faster delivery despite increased costs for brands, which target more sales and thus be two steps ahead of competing brands not offering this service.

2) Drones And Robots

Currently, Civil Aviation Authorities are making it difficult for companies to have their individual drone delivery systems in place due to security concerns but this may happen soon in the near future. Self-driven robots have been field tested in some counties, monitored and operated by humans from their control rooms. Flying delivery drones are unlikely to cruise on the busy cities skylines anytime soon, but can prove to be great for e-commerce in rural areas as drones are appropriate for use in areas where lower density of population can encourage unchallenged drone operations, and could prove to be a boon where poor transportation infrastructure hinders timely courier delivery.

3) Pick Up And Pack Companies

These days there are a greater number of retailers using pack, pickup, and shipping companies, which behave like a personal courier service between customers and retailers. They are becoming increasingly popular, particularly for smaller scaled e-commerce companies, as they have the option of offering same day deliveries, which they couldn’t have done earlier. Customers are expecting better and quicker services for online shopping, and these ecommerce businesses are working hard to provide this. Delivery speed plays a major part in the customer’s purchase decisions, and more innovative systems may emerge soon enough.

People are migrating to cities in droves and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 60% and more of the world’s population will live in urban areas. In 2019 it will be standard for online retailers to only offer premium delivery options restricted to certain urban areas, to keep their business cost-efficient.

4) In-home delivery

To avoid missed deliveries, which is not economically viable, Amazon and Walmart are real-time testing the concept of in-home delivery, aided by smart-locks. When the delivery person arrives at your residence to deliver your order, and you get a notification on your smartphone, and the phone helps you to remotely undo your smart-lock and allow the delivery person access, who can then proceed to store the items in your pantry, fridge or any other place as per instructions. A real-time camera feed provides extra security as you can monitor your house.

5) Nominated Day Delivery

But what is speedy delivery worth when there is nobody at your residence to accept the delivery of your parcel? For many customers who are not necessarily after speed deliveries but are looking for the certainty of delivery, a pre-selected time and date for the same is perfect and this extra convenience does not cost much.

6). Treating delivery drivers better

With the growth of e-commerce, we have also seen on-demand meal/food delivery services and online retailers now delivering at-door services. This really is a golden age for logistics, but with a serious shortage of delivery drivers looming. Logistics companies have started improving working situations and fair compensation packages to attract manpower. With these changes in mind, we do see a price hike in delivery services soon.

7) Delivery subscriptions: premium or free

In an effort to address the irrational but strong demand for free delivery, a large number of big-named retailers are now exploring delivery subscription models. With a subscription, the customer gets free unlimited deliveries when they pay the annual flat-fee. Amazon, who launched Amazon Prime in 2005 with over 80 million subscribers, first pioneered this model and is sticking to it, with others following suit.

E-commerce is doing well globally and 2019 will be about spreading volumes and preventing peak season delays. Delivery subscriptions may be the antidote to unlimited free delivery, as businesses seek to improve working conditions.