The Last Mile Mandate: Key insights from a U.S. consumer survey
By Komal Puri | October 13, 2022
In a recent survey conducted among U.S consumers, FarEye took a peek inside the current state of last-mile delivery and the experiences with it that online shoppers are having.
Their findings? Despite the explosion in e-commerce growth and recent advances in online delivery, consumers are still abandoning online shopping carts due to poor delivery terms and are unlikely to shop with a retailer again after having a bad delivery experience. Delivery is crucial to the online consumer experience and both shippers and carriers still aren’t getting it right. Below is a brief overview of the findings our survey uncovered.
Consumer Survey - Key Insights
Many Consumers Abandon Online Carts Due to Poor Delivery Terms
Eighty-eight percent of consumers are abandoning their online shopping carts due to poor shipping terms today, like slow delivery and high shipping costs. Shippers and carriers are leaving dollars on the table with these lost sales and may be hurting their consumer loyalty in the long-term before the ‘buy now’ button is ever clicked.
Bad Delivery Experiences are Bad for Business
Eighty-five percent of consumers report that they will not shop with a retailer again after having a poor delivery experience. Delivering a positive experience is paramount for future sales. But what exactly is a positive delivery experience?
A Positive Delivery Experience Defined
Consumers claim, ‘fast delivery’ and ‘low shipping costs’ as the two most important aspects of a positive delivery experience. Other important aspects that create a positive delivery experience include ‘delivery tracking, ‘easy returns process,’ ‘sustainable delivery’ and the ‘ability to select delivery windows.’ Ensuring these elements are accounted for in the delivery process can drive repeat sales and boost brand loyalty.
Delivery Speed has Room for Improvement
With fast delivery being a top priority for consumers, it should also be a top priority for shippers and carriers. The reality is consumers are typically waiting longer for delivery than they prefer to wait. Eighty-six percent of consumers prefer to wait less than three days for delivery, while thirty percent prefer to wait no more than one day.
Same-Day Delivery Opportunity
Fifty-four percent of consumers have not received a same-day delivery in the past year, and only 4% of consumers have received all or most of their online deliveries in the same day. With many large retailers already offering same-day delivery and nearly all retailers planning to offer the service by 2025 by solving their retail last mile challenges, there is a major opportunity for retailers to move quickly and gain delivery advantages ahead of their competition.
Communications and Alerts
Fifty percent of consumers did not receive delivery notifications and ETA alerts on a majority of their orders over the past year. With this aspect of delivery being critical to the overall delivery experience, shippers and carriers must look to improve communications and transparency with consumers to create a positive experience.
Transparent Sustainability
Fifty-six percent of consumers are interested in seeing the carbon emission impact of their delivery. In an increasingly eco-conscious world, consumers are looking for ways to minimize their carbon footprints where possible. Shippers and carriers that can give consumers transparency into the sustainability of their deliveries, as well as sustainable delivery options, may strengthen their brand image.
An Omnichannel World
Although home delivery remains the most popular fulfillment destination for online delivery, consumers and companies alike have expanded their horizons beyond the doorstep to add flexibility, choice and speed to the delivery process. In-store fulfillment, including curbside pickup and buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), has grown in recent years, as have parcel lockers and pick-up points.
Autonomous Delivery
Forty percent of consumers are open to using autonomous delivery options if given the choice. Autonomous delivery includes shipping products using driverless cars and drones. This delivery method is slowly taking hold globally and may mitigate risks associated with driver shortages and labor retention. With less than half of consumers open to receiving autonomous deliveries, there may be room to prove that this is safe, secure and efficient.
The Difficulty of Online Returns
Forty-five percent of consumers do not believe that online returns are easy. Nearly half of consumers have difficulty with a process that greatly affects brand loyalty and impacts consumers' likelihood to shop with a retailer again. Returns are a tricky pain point not just for consumers but for shippers and carriers as well. The right technology can help.
FarEye and the Last Mile Mandate
In response to these persistent delivery challenges and others, FarEye developed the Last Mile Mandate as a directive for retailers, brands and carriers across the globe to achieve superior last-mile deliveries that turn the consumer delivery experience into a competitive advantage by simplifying the complex delivery process and solving the delivery challenges companies have felt for years.
The Last Mile Mandate focuses on solving these challenges through last mile logistics technology capabilities such as real-time visibility, delivery orchestration, customer experience, business process management and sustainability.
For a more detailed look at the state of last-mile delivery, the challenges within and the solutions companies can implement to overcome them, check out The Last Mile Mandate eBook here.
Survey Methodology
1,000 U.S consumers aged 18+ were polled via online survey in June 2022.
Questions:
- “When thinking about e-commerce delivery, please select the aspects that create a positive delivery experience”
- “How likely are you to shop with a retailer again after having a poor delivery experience?”
- “How long do you typically wait for online order delivery?”
- “How long would you prefer to wait for online order delivery?”
- “Approximately how many of your online deliveries over the past year were delivered same-day?”
- “Approximately how many of your online deliveries over the past year included ETA alerts sent via SMS or email?”
- “How interested are you in seeing the carbon emission impact of delivering your order?”
- “Which of the following online order delivery methods have you used in the past?”
- “If given the option, how likely would you be to choose to receive deliveries from an autonomous vehicle, such as a driverless car or drone?”
- “How often do you abandon an online shopping cart because of poor delivery terms (speed, cost, etc.)?”
- “How much do you agree with the following statement? ‘Returning online orders through the mail is easy.’
Komal Puri is a seasoned professional in the logistics and supply chain industry. As the AVP of Marketing and a subject matter expert at FarEye, she has been instrumental in shaping the industry narrative for the past decade. Her expertise and insights have earned her numerous awards and recognition. Komal’s writings reflect her deep understanding of the industry, offering valuable insights and thought leadership.
