Patience is not a virtue lauded in modern society. We don’t like waiting around for anything, but this is especially true for items that we buy online or get shipped to our home. Once we purchase that item, we just can’t wait for our package to arrive.
More companies are catching on and making efforts to ensure shorter delivery times for customers. This demand for expedited shipping will continue to increase to satisfy customers’ demands. Two-day shipping is a preferred method to meet quick delivery needs, but even better are overnight and same-day options. Same-day delivery, in particular, is appealing for both customers (it’s fast) and companies (if it’s doable) and will likely become the industry standard in the future.
Overnight delivery is a super fast option for those of us who want our products ASAP. Zappos’s VIP members-only service offers overnight shipping, free of charge. Foreign retailers also recognize the value of fast delivery to American shoppers. Ermenegildo Zegna, the Italian high-end menswear label, will soon offer overnight shipping exclusively to its U.S. customers.
Some major companies, like Amazon and Google, already offer same-day delivery on items purchased before a certain time of day for an additional price. Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s recently announced their plans to test same-day delivery for products that customers buy through their websites. Their pilot programs are set to launch in the fall in eight Macy’s locations and four Bloomingdale’s locations.
How will Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s satisfy customers’ demand for same-day delivery? They’ll be getting help from businesses in the same-day delivery marketplace that offer courier-service deliveries to customers to enable expedited package distribution. Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s use Deliv, a crowdsourced same-day delivery service that specializes in serving large national multichannel retailers. The Deliv option can be added to the checkout page on ecommerce sites or in store checkout. Now, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s customers have more choice and flexibility in their expedited delivery preferences.
Other startups in the same-day delivery marketplace are also experiencing an influx of interest from stores and customers. Zipments is revolutionizing local deliveries by allowing customers to have their package delivered by a courier (like UPS, but better). Additionally, Zipments’ couriers will deliver packages to the location at the time that best suits the individual customer. Their methodology is equipped to maximize efficiency of quality package delivery, and Zipments has partnered with retailers to help them manage timely local deliveries. Postmates, one of Zipments’ top competitors, also operates a courier-enabled delivery service. Touting themselves as “Everyone’s Favorite Delivery Service,” Postmates promises to deliver customers’ packages from any store in under an hour. Like Zipments and Deliv, Postmates offers affordable prices for their delivery services to attract customers, and both delivery service businesses have plans to expand to more areas across the country.
Speedy shipping and delivery are a trend that we know is going to become the norm, so we are preparing to make sure we can provide this service to our customers. Wrap & Send has a 99.3 percent record of getting shipments out the door the same day that they are placed. We know that customers expect that their merchandise be delivered to them quickly. Simply put, timely shipping and delivery keep customers happy and they’ll be more likely to do business with a company when they are satisfied with their service.
