In today’s world, it’s rare that someone will buy an item online and not mind too much about when it arrives – people want their product as soon as possible after they have paid for it. And rightly so, because if e-commerce is truly going to defeat its brick-and-mortar rival, then fast and reliable shipping is the only way to make sure of that.
We all know that Amazon is the undisputed king of e-commerce, so if you’re going up against them, you better have some good tricks up your sleeve. This is especially true right now more than ever with Amazon delivering items via drones with Prime Air (plans for a drone hive building are currently being proposed). However, there are a lot of interesting developments happening within online delivery which don’t involve drones, even if drones are on-trend now.
Far More Convenient Delivery
It’s a fairly common practice that anything you order online is sent to a specific location, such as a home or workplace. But there are delivery companies working with online retailers who want to switch up this concept of a fixed shipment spot. A company called On the dot gives consumers the option of a package being delivered to wherever they want, be it under a bridge or on a street corner, for example. Using push bike couriers and GPS tracking, On the dot’s business model, is something that knocks down the idea of shoppers having to obey to company timeslots. Insider Trends spoke with the company’s sales and marketing manager, Laura-Jayne Winning,:
“We live in an “always on” world, where we can do our banking at midnight, the weekly shop in the park from our smartphone and pick a new outfit from our office desk. Retail has changed profoundly – gone are fixed opening hours, and restrictions on purchase times,” says Laura-Jayne. “We are taking the step of bringing delivery fully into this omnichannel world. On the dot helps empower customers by offering deliveries on their terms and reminding retailers who makes the rules in omnichannel retail.”
Try Before You Buy
E-commerce stores might have solid prices and a wide selection of products, but what good is that if the customer receives an item that isn’t what they expected when seeing it online? This happens all the time, particularly with fashion, as customers perhaps misread size details, or the color just wasn’t the same as on the computer screen. The store has to refund or send another item, the customer isn’t particularly happy, and the process is dragged out for several more days. This is where brick-and-mortar shopping is so advantageous, as the dimensions and color of the item are instantly visible.
This notion of seeing something before purchase has mercifully been extended to areas like printing, as well. For example, print24 is one such company offering customers a screen proof or even a paper proof for items such as flyers or business cards. This occurs before the real printing has begun, which means any problems with color or size can be quashed early on, and no messy refunds have to take place.
Not in the Air or on Land
Although it’s on a much larger scale than simply a pair of jeans or a new lamp, a pipeline system designed by Mole Solutions is currently underway. The underground transport will be used for heavy freight, but this is a fascinating solution to cut down delivery times due to above-ground issues (traffic, weather, etc.). The system reminds us somewhat of the Hyperloop program designed by Elon Musk, albeit with humans being transported through a tube above ground. Still, fast deliveries via a tube network – especially one underground – is an exciting prospect for the future.
