Customer expectations have risen a lot in recent years, especially when it comes to shipping and delivery. If your business isn’t able to deliver the products that customers purchase in a matter of days at most, many customers will turn to competitors like Amazon, Walmart, and Target that now offer expedited delivery for almost all of the products in their stores.
But what is expedited delivery, why do customers value it so much, and how can smaller businesses go about offering the same delivery services that the largest retail brands have become known for? In this article, we’ll answer all of these questions and more to help you get started making expedited delivery a differentiator for your company.
What is expedited delivery?
With expedited delivery, products are shipped and delivered faster than standard shipping times. But how fast do we mean by “faster”? It turns out there are a few different answers to that question, depending on who you ask.
Generally speaking, expedited delivery guarantees a product’s arrival within three business days. However, many brands use the term interchangeably with terms like “express delivery” or “same-day delivery”. In these cases, expedited delivery can mean that the product is delivered the next day or even the same day that it is ordered.
There are several key elements that go into making expedited delivery work, prioritized order processing, faster shipping methods, and optimized logistics. For small to medium-sized businesses that want to start offering expedited delivery, partnering with a carrier that already has all of these elements mastered is usually the most reliable option, and that’s something we’ll discuss more in a later section.
Compared to the rest of the delivery process, last mile delivery is also much more customer-centric. Things like delivery windows and real-time tracking updates have to be managed with the customer in mind.
Finally, last mile delivery is unique because it can encompass a lot of different delivery scenarios. Whether it’s an e-commerce order that needs to be delivered to a residential address, food and grocery deliveries that have to be dropped off within tight time constraints, or bulky item deliveries that require special handling, the last stage in the delivery process is inherently challenging.
Why do customers value expedited delivery?
Expedited delivery has become a top priority for online shoppers, so much so that they are both willing to pay more and willing to go somewhere else to get it. According to research from Capital One, 55% of customers are willing to pay at least $5 more for same-day delivery, and 50% of customers report abandoning an online purchase because same-day delivery was not offered.
Because of this, delivery speed has become the new battleground in retail where brands compete and look to set themselves apart. Unless you’re selling products that no one else offers (an increasing rarity in today’s eCommerce landscape), how fast you can get your products to the customer’s doorstep is going to be an important differentiator for your brand.
But why is it that customers have come to value expedited delivery so much? While the “why” is different for every customer, here are the top reasons expedited delivery is a priority for today’s customers.
Competitive expectations
By far the biggest reason why today’s customers value expedited delivery so much is the fact that they’ve become trained to expect it. Almost every major online retailer offers expedited delivery options, and many of them have been offering it for years.
This has created a major shift in customer expectations when it comes to delivery speeds. Before Amazon became a household name, most customers didn’t think anything of it if they had to wait a week or longer for products to be delivered. Now, waiting that long feels like an eternity for most customers.
Even if you aren’t directly competing with retail giants like Walmart and Amazon (and let’s face it, most businesses are in some form or another), your customers are still likely to expect a comparable delivery experience. Love it or hate it, speedy delivery is now a bar that all retail brands have to meet.
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Convenience and flexibility
Beyond customers coming to expect it, the convenience and flexibility expedited delivery offers is the largest reason why it’s so valued. When companies offer expedited delivery, customers don’t have to plan ahead to get their orders on time. They also don’t have to sit around waiting for them for days on end, and, thanks to services like real-time tracking that often come included with expedited delivery, they know exactly when to expect their orders.
Expedited delivery is sometimes a necessity
There are plenty of cases where it’s not just a matter of impatience and customers really do need their products as fast as possible. For example, a customer might be ordering a gift last minute for a birthday or other holiday that takes place the same day. Or, a business might be ordering a replacement part for an essential piece of equipment that the business can’t operate without.
In other cases, it’s the product itself that necessitates expedited delivery. Companies selling perishable products like frozen food and certain medications often have no choice but to offer expedited delivery since the product would spoil before it arrived if shipped at standard speeds.
The challenges of offering expedited delivery
Expedited delivery is something customers now expect, and that fact alone is more than enough reason for companies to offer it. However, “fast” and “easy” are two things that rarely go together, and expedited delivery can often create numerous challenges for companies. Challenges like:
Increased costs: Expedited shipping typically comes with higher costs for both businesses and customers. This means that keeping your delivery prices competitive while still maintaining profitability can sometimes be a challenge.
Logistics coordination: Optimizing warehouse processes, inventory management, and shipping partnerships to accommodate faster delivery is often a complex undertaking for businesses.
Limited resources: Small businesses typically don’t have the infrastructure and/or volume discounts from carriers that larger companies enjoy, making it more difficult for them to offer expedited delivery.
Regional limitations: In rural areas (as well as any area that’s located a long way from your company’s warehouses), expedited delivery is, at the very least, even more costly to pull off. In some cases, it simply isn’t possible.
There’s no denying that these challenges can be significant. So how is it that so many retail brands today offer expedited delivery today, often while only charging marginally more for it? Building your own in-house logistics network is one solution, but that comes with some massive expenses and complexities. For most companies wanting to offer expedited delivery, partnering with a last-mile carrier is the best path forward.
The benefits of partnering with a last-mile carrier for expedited delivery
When you partner with a reliable on-demand carrier like Bungii, almost all the challenges associated with offering expedited delivery are eliminated. By giving retailers and shippers access to a robust technology platform, a nationwide delivery network, and operational expertise, Bungii allows companies of all sizes to offer fast, affordable delivery just about anywhere in the country.
Partnering with an on-demand carrier also gives you access to advanced tools like real-time tracking and delivery updates, and you can easily make these tools available to your customers as well to further improve your company’s post-purchase experience.
Best of all, partnering with an on-demand carrier like Bungii is a highly scalable solution. If your company’s needs change over time, you can easily scale up or scale down your delivery services. When building your own logistics network, scaling is not nearly so easy.
Here are some of the top innovations poised to make an impact on last mile delivery now and in the future:
Make expedited delivery a difference-maker for your brand
At Bungii, we empower companies of all sizes to offer the same swift, reliable, and affordable delivery options that they get with leading retail brands. If you would like to learn more about how Bungii can help make expedited delivery a key differentiator for your company, contact us today!
