With quick-commerce pacing growth, major grocery retailers are under great pressure to serve dense urban areas such as New York, London, and Paris and deliver the product to consumers promptly, in less than 15 minutes, and often for free.
This quick service trend brings with it some downsides. As reported by The New York Times in its recent article, this trend of quick commerce will siphon business away from local bodegas and supermarkets, and send more delivery workers onto crowded city streets already filled with food app workers racing to deliver hot meals. The small and medium-sized businesses are struggling to compete with the “fast-and-free” model of retail behemoths such as Amazon.com and Best Buy, as it adds unnecessarily cost in deliveries for them.
But S&M businesses do not necessarily have to compete with the fast and free model as not all consumers expect quick deliveries. The Latest report by Connected Retail, CI&T reveals some surprising findings of consumer habits and preferences. As per the report, the majority of respondents said they expected deliveries within three to four days of order, with two-day delivery coming in second. Only 9% expected same-day delivery, signaling a lack of urgency around the need for the “buzzy” 15-minute delivery that some retailers are currently marketing.
The majority of consumers are not necessarily looking for how quickly an order can be received but are rather interested to know when exactly will the order arrive. In an industry that is already suffering from a labor shortage, the rush for expedited shipping puts great strain on the industry.
In today’s day and time retailers rather than competing in the ‘fast-and-free’ model of retail should look for an optimal mix of speed and service. Asking consumers what they want or when do they prefer at the time of placing the order would be a novel idea. This along with lowering the supply chain costs will also allow the retailer to focus on those deliveries that truly need to be rushed.
To determine consumers’ preference for online channels, CI&T’s survey listed four options: apps, social media pages, websites, and mobile sites. An unexpected 41% of respondents favored the retailer’s app, followed by 35% opting for the retailer’s mobile site.
Consumers’ initial resistance to the use of retailer apps and mobile sites has given way to broad acceptance. That’s due in part to improved data storage capacity on phones, along with a general shift in the culture toward technology.
