
Shoppers, now used to ordering anywhere and any time, are keen to take delivery at the moment that suits them. So retailers are going out of their way to bring orders to where customers are, at times in their day that work for them. After all, who wants to spend lunchtime standing in a queue when collection could be the work of a moment on the way home.
Why should merchants bother? It’s simple. Getting delivery right means traders win more sales, while those who don’t, miss out. Below, we single out some of the latest innovations in retail delivery – and collection – and consider why they work.Home delivery
It may sound an obvious point, but home delivery works best when customers are at home. That’s why House of Fraser went to great lengths to develop a simple yet innovative delivery service in the autumn. Shoppers ordering online by 4pm can now specify delivery by 9am the next morning. Announcing the new service, at Internet Retailing Conference 2014, Andy Harding, executive director, multichannel, at House of Fraser, said: “The voice of the customer is telling us that home delivery is not convenient. Most people work, and taking time off work, even when you know which 15-minute window it will arrive in, is still a pain.”Click and commute
Where could be more convenient to take delivery than on the way to and from work? Collection points are now firmly on the transport network map in the capital and beyond, with grocers including Asda, Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s now giving shoppers the opportunity to pick up their internet orders in Transport for London stations. John Lewis, another Elite logistics performer in the IRUK Top500, this autumn opened its first Click and Commute store at St Pancras station, where workers on their way home to the east of England can pick up their online orders. Argos recently opened its smallest store to date in Cannon Street tube station. It promises same-day, next day and fast collection for online orders from the 170 sq ft Argos Collect branch. Using a hub and spoke logistics model, it says it can get any of 20,000 products to the shop in super quick. Unveiling the service, John Walden, chief executive of Argos’ parent company the Home Retail Group, said: “Digital shoppers are increasingly demanding improved choice, convenience and speed in the fulfilment of their online orders, especially via click and collect; the collection of their online orders from a conveniently located shop.”Round the clock
At the last minute
As shoppers grow accustomed to the idea of fast and convenient delivery, their expectations stretch still further. Same-day delivery is now a reality for a number of retailers. Traders such as Argos can fulfil orders from their stores: via the Shutl service it can deliver orders to nearby homes in as little as 15 minutes, or use its hub and spoke logistics to get a product into the right store for same day collection. But same day delivery presents more of a challenge to online-only retailers who don’t have the benefit of store-held stock. By building smaller hubs close to large areas of population, pureplays such as Amazon and AO.com are able to offer delivery within just a few hours. Indeed, AO.com’s same-day delivery of large household appliances ordered by noon won it top marks for delivery in the logistics section of the IRUK Top500.Ian Jindal is founder of Internet Retailing.
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