Retailers are under increasing pressure to get orders into customers’ hands fast, free, sustainably, and on time—which often means the same day. To meet these high standards, retailers are turning to an omnichannel strategy, shipping more products from more places more often, including storefronts. Along with this shipping, strategy shift comes a growing network of carriers spanning from national to hyper-local, such as crowdsourced delivery.
And there is a lot of last-mile delivery market to go around, with the global last-mile delivery market expected to reach US$ 7.69 billion in 2027, according to a report from The Insight Partners. But, it is perhaps same-day delivery more than anything that is pushing retailers to reach out to new sources of local delivery.
Same-day delivery is becoming a staple of modern retail. Roadie’s 2022 Last-Mile Outlook: The Future of Crowdsourced Delivery found that 26% of U.S. retailers currently offer same-day delivery. An additional 73% plan to add the service within the next three years. That is a lot of need where alternatives to more-traditional carrier services will have to come into play, especially as more consumers look for same-day delivery regardless of where they are in relation to the retail operation.
Same-Day Delivery Moves Out of the City
Most same-day service has been limited to urban areas [or the immediate suburbs] due to a lack of ability to reach customers in the outer suburbs and rural areas with local couriers on the short notice of same-day. However, crowdsourcing these deliveries is enabling retailers to expand their same-day delivery circle.
Much as we’ve grown accustomed to ride-sharing services and food delivery, Crowdsourcing final-mile delivery utilizes a network of independent drivers in their own vehicles to make those same-day and hyper-local deliveries. And many of these networks offer same-day delivery up to 100 miles from a store, expanding the reach from city centers to often-neglected suburbs and even rural areas.
Of course, with more network choices, it becomes even more critical for retailers to manage that network. It is imperative to keep costs under control and ensure that customers are getting the customer delivery experience that reflects the image the brand wants — as it is them that will receive the praise and ridicule of the customer.
According to an article on Project 44, 70% of shoppers are less likely to return to a brand following a negative delivery experience. In addition, transportation costs that are sunk into last-mile delivery can make up 8% of annual turnover, eating into margins. So, there is a lot at stake.
With the right multi-carrier management solution, such as Transtream, that can incorporate crowdsourced carriers into the mix it manages, the benefits far outweigh the risks for retailers looking to make an impact with same-day delivery to both those in traditional locales but reaching out to customers in rural and suburban markets.
Learn how Transtream can fit into your expanding carrier network and help manage your national, regional, local, and hyper-local mix, including crowdsourcing, by requesting a personalized demonstration today.