Today’s consumers have higher standards than ever before. As shopping has shifted online, delivery times have been a key consideration.
In a survey by Deloitte, only 18% of respondents considered delivery within 5-7 days as “fast shipping”. Delivery within 2 days or less was considered fast by over 90% of respondents.
The marketplace best known for its fast delivery is notably Amazon (stock ticker: AMZN), which through scale and a sophisticated logistics network has been able to offer their Prime customers fast shipping at no cost. Meanwhile, marketplaces lacking logistics infrastructure (like eBay) see highly variable delivery times.
Companies selling direct-to-consumer have faced difficulties competing on delivery. And, as a result, platforms like Shopify are building out a fulfillment network for their merchants. Some, like Wish, have taken a different approach by not only building their own logistics arm but also opening it up to merchants outside their marketplace.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how companies approach delivery, and how this ultimately impacts the customer experience.
Twitter: @_SeanDavid
The author or his firm may have positions in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
