Branching out into the delivery sector can be a tricky step to master for your business, especially if you are late to the game when it comes to online orders or shipping to people who aren’t present in-store. Tricky but not impossible.
Currently, 66% of UK retailers offer next-day delivery, and by 2025, this number is predicted to be 99%. This trend clearly indicates the growing importance of offering delivery options. By not yet offering delivery of any kind, you could be missing out on huge sections of your customer base and doing your business a disservice. However, by implementing delivery services, you cannot only retain your existing customers but also attract new ones, thereby boosting your business’s growth and success.
According to nShift, retailers are losing out if they’re not offering delivery. In fact, three in five shoppers will look elsewhere for what they need if delivery is not offered. This means that if you’re not yet offering delivery options to your customers, you could be losing not just potential sales but also valuable customers to your competitors.
If this is your first foray into offering delivery, don’t worry. You have a few options to choose from that can help you appease your customers. These options are adaptable and can be tailored to your business’s unique needs, giving you the power to implement changes that can significantly improve your customer service.
Delivery From Store
In the first instance, you can integrate delivery into your daily routine by allowing online orders and then delivering them to local addresses for same or next-day delivery within a specific radius around your retail location. This is handy for food delivery, restaurants, or even small stores that rely on regular customers to serve an isolated or ageing community. Your customers can place orders online or over the phone with you, and you then have a dedicated delivery driver take the orders out to them.
Order Fulfilment
If you don’t have a store or your orders can be large in volume or nativity, then it can be an option to use order fulfilment. Order fulfilment or Pick and Pack Services is where a third party stores your inventory and packs the orders when they come in via your website. They take charge of packing the order and ensuring it gets delivered.
While you still need to procure the stock and have it delivered to your fulfilment partner, they will take care of the rest once the orders come through.
Self Fulfilled Orders
It can be a good idea to invest in offering delivery options from stores where you personally package up the orders and ship them using a delivery partner, such as DHL, DPD, Evri and Yodel. This can take some trial and error to get right concerning the packaging you use, the delivery company you choose and the speed of the delivery you offer, as you will need to make sure you can physically arrange to meet these deadlines, especially if you’re running a store that is open to the public at the same time.
If you’re not yet offering delivery options to your customers, then chances are you are losing money and customers as they will move to other retailers who can offer them what they need. Studies have shown that businesses that offer delivery options can see an increase in sales by 38% and a 20% increase in customer retention (based on offering different delivery options and improved customer service). There are multiple ways you can incorporate shipping into your business model in a way that works for you and your customers.