The retail sector is experiencing rapid changes, leading to the rise of e-commerce. We live in a saturated market hence special attention is required towards last-mile logistics – to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Crowdsourcing Last-Mile Delivery
It is for sure exciting to witness several changes taking shape in the last-mile delivery sector over the past few years. Adaptation is the key to survive in a fast-paced industry. It is evident that the pandemic revolutionized consumer behavior in ways that we could have never imagined. There is reliance on online shopping and a preference towards collection points as a delivery method of choice. A lot of emphasis is being given to improving last-mile logistics by e-commerce companies nowadays. There are plenty of e-commerce options available in the market.
Here are the top 7 last-mile delivery trends in 2022
Rapid Last-Mile Fulfillment
Times have changed, and things have moved on fast, no more it is acceptable to receive online purchases after one or two weeks. About 68% of consumers claim to shop only if fast shipping is available. Moreover, 90% of consumers are expected to receive their parcels within a week even with free shipping.
Urban WarehousingLoads of physical retailers shut down. Some e-commerce giants took this opportunity to turn them into urban warehouses.
Insourcing Delivery
Without a doubt, last-mile logistics are usually expensive. To minimize final mile logistics costs, retailers have opted to handle them in-house or work together with competitors in the region to share delivery fleets.
E-commerce growth is here to stay; therefore, few online retailers began considering, insourcing fulfillment as well. Though traditionally logistics is outsourced for more flexibility as demand fluctuates.
Robotic, Drones & Autonomous Vehicles
Companies need to gear up their manpower to deliver parcels as demands peak. Though, we’ve also seen labor shortages in recruiting qualified drivers.
Customer Experience through Last Mile Delivery
Customer experience in last-mile delivery is more crucial than ever; 84% of consumers mentioned that they were unlikely to make a second purchase after a poor last-mile delivery experience.
No Returns Just Refunds
In 2020, returned online purchases increased by 70%. Retailers were left to pay for the returns processing fees, which can possibly be as high as 15-20% of the costs of the products.
Therefore, instead of paying for customers’ returns, some retailers would simply refund the purchase price while leaving the products in customers’ hands.
Crowdsourcing Last Mile DeliveryMore and more retailers are adopting crowdsourcing last-mile delivery in their supply chain to expand their reach and reduce costs.
