Using E-commerce technologies, online retailers have got the breathe to feature a wide range of products in their store. From normal to digital in various sizes and shapes. Now, their focus is to tweak the shipping methods and make selling better. The first question strikes the mind is how many e-shopaholics actually want instant delivery or same day delivery for ordered products? The answer is right away... Source: http://elitedaily_.com/news/business/elite-daily-millennial-consumer-survey-2015/ As per the survey conducted by Elite Daily, Gen Y forms a largest chunk of working group who have a huge buying power. Once they find the brand appealing, they get heavily connected with that brand of products. It’s also been noted, Gen Y i.e. Millennials who are the young e-shopaholics desire straight away shipping of the products they have ordered. They are impatient for their order to get shipped in a specific time period. Rest of the e-shopaholics like to wait to get the products delivered to them. If online retailers make amendments in the shipping strategies targeting only the Y generation then the rest may quit shopping from the retail e-stores and switch to better online shopping options. If online retailers make amendments in the shipping strategies targeting only the Y generation then the rest may quit shopping from the retail e-stores and switch to better online shopping options. Reason 1. Shipping companies impose high charges for instant or same day delivery compared to other shipping options. 2. The product line cuts down from 1000+ to 500 for same day delivery. 3. Swift shipping strategies limit the servicing location. Same day delivery kind of shipping strategies works well with online grocery or food ordering because grocery or food are not ordered outside the city. It’s within the reach. Just imagine! if the food or grocery are ordered outside the city, in what condition it will reach us and at what time? Gigantic online stores have come up with pilot programs which impose a raised shipping cost on an hour or same day delivery options. This shipping method is on the testing basis still, if we look at the results, the sales are like a drop in a bucket. From the customer's viewpoint, Yes! It’s a compelling strategy but for how long? The amount that online shopaholics spend on such shipping methods is pretty high compared to the other shipping methods. And, the charges vary from store to store. A few stores levy subscription charges on a yearly basis, others levy depending upon the size and colour of the ordered product. Being a crazy online shopper, which shipping strategy will consumers prefer? Old e-shopaholics would vote against same day delivery option and would prefer 2-3 days or week shipping strategies because the former shipping strategy will only fill the pockets of shipping companies and retailers. Plus, they won’t get the requisite products on the list they are looking for. What about the consumers who love to shop outside the country? Actually, the enjoyment of online shopping is when we shop from outside the country. Online stores give us 1000s of options to make our purchase easy from single e-store which we don’t find in a physical retail storefronts. A few products are such we don’t get anywhere in the physical storefronts, we have to order it online.This may take time, approx a week or 2-3 days for the products to reach us. For Example: Smartphone is a lifestyle nowadays and frankly speaking, we keep on looking for the latest smartphones, be it Android or iPhone. The devices launched by Google and Xiaomi are mostly found online. Henceforth, there is no option left for the Google and Xiaomi aficionados to place the order online and wait to get it shipped. Can same day delivery be opted for such situation? No… Let’s take a look at the same day delivery strategy from retailer’s perspective Including such shipping strategies in the e-store adds a golden feather on the retailer’s hat but do you think this will remain for a longer time period? No… Why? Time Limitation The same day shipping strategy is stringent and quick. If the ordered items are bit late to reach the customers then retailers; 1. May lose the customer’s trust and not be approached for future orders. 2. Have to do free merchandise shipping which may result into a huge loss. Here, time and location walk hand in hand. The online retailers can pack the order at the customer’s doorstep on the same day on a condition that the customer is residing in the nearby area. Here’s a perfect example which describes the above phrase Prime Now is a pilot program introduced by Amazon limited to few cities of US. Before making any purchase using this program the users have to type their zip codes to check whether the insta service is serving their city or not. The local shipping service providers do the delivery of products in an hour or two for free in the selected cities after the customers pay a yearly subscription of $7.99. Check the website to know more on how this service works: primenow.amazon.com Product Line Online retailers who adopt such strategies are cemented to a specific product line. All types of products cannot be shipped in a day’s time. It depends on the product’s durability. This affects retailers in a metaphorical way. Though they earn a good amount of profit by adopting this ultra fast shipping strategy, they outreach their customers from a variety of products resulting in a futuristic loss. Supply Chain becomes tight With the same day delivery strategy, retailers get busy organizing the order and processing them to ship. The chain gets superfast and rumpus. Such situation gets irksome and increases the chances of mistakes and conflicts, still retailers and shipping companies manage to streamline the process. Retailers have to stay connected with more than one local shipping companies to make their buzzy task easy and smooth. Furthermore, retailers who don’t procure inventory have to coordinate with their dropshippers to pick and pack the merchandise at the billing address without wasting a single minute here and there. Apart from all the negative points which same day delivery holds, there is one positive point that brings grin on the faces of online retailers: Inventory Management It is a rescuing strategy from the viewpoint of holding a huge stock in the warehouse. Retailers get relief from stocking the products for days and increasing the unnecessary expenditure. An important point to note is, retailers have to be on their toes to automate the stock level swiftly and omit the discomfort of stock outs for trending products. Retailers can easily do it by using the best Inventory Management Software tailored according to their needs. Closing Alas! Same day delivery which satisfies a group of customers by fulfilling their demand of What They want, they want it straight away has a tiny scope and may get efface in near future. The competition between the demand and supply has no end and so we may come across better shipping options in the coming days.
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