We’re well into 2020 now and, as expected, ecommerce is continuing its unstoppable rise. Figures are now available for the recent holiday season and, in the UK alone, it’s reported that online purchases made up 28.2% of all retail sales – surpassing the previous record of 25%.
The ecommerce industry is going from strength to strength and is becoming increasingly competitive, resulting in new ideas, enhanced service and improved processes overall. To stay ahead, business leaders are pioneering new ways of improving ecommerce delivery, which strengthens their brand and helps protect the wider industry.
We look at what the future holds for ecommerce delivery and how you can be a part of it.
Eco-friendly ecommerce
Environmental awareness is the hot topic that should be on the agenda of every online business. Consumers increasingly want brands to lead with their values and to see evidence of positive activity. This means implementing green manufacturing practices, using eco-friendly supply chains and enforcing reduced-waste packaging.
For businesses, energy-efficient manufacturing is just the start. In the future, customer satisfaction is likely to hinge not just on price and quality, but how brands manufacture their goods. This also includes ethical sourcing of sustainable commodities and treating workers well.
Online retailers are increasingly turning to sophisticated technology to cut waste. However, there are ways to earn your green credentials in the public eye without significant investment at the outset. Zero-waste packaging, where all materials are used, reused, or recycled, is driven by high consumer demand and is fairly straightforward to adopt.
Look into minimising your packaging, reducing package sizes, redesigning shipping cases, using sustainable materials – and keep up with the trend while protecting the planet.
Premium delivery
Convenience is a vital aspect of what makes ecommerce so popular, and we’re now witnessing more businesses offering ultra-fast, premium delivery. It’s been shown that customers are willing to pay more for more efficient service, although this doesn’t mean that rapid delivery can be economically viable for SMEs.
The cost of fulfilment, processing, despatching and delivering extremely quickly is very high, and it’s difficult for companies to remain profitable while offering a service such as same-day delivery. Perhaps this is only suited to very specific businesses and that companies should focus on refining a same-day click and collect service instead.
Further into the future, it’s anticipated that drones and robots could well be the main agents of ecommerce delivery. In recent years, there has been steady growth in the number of parcels delivered by new technology such as self-driven robots, monitored by humans in control rooms. This links back to the need for more environmental awareness. As SearchNode, the organisation behind 22 Ecommerce Trends for 2020, states: ‘More ecommerce companies could accept their selling products for recycling or at least educate how purchased products could be recycled. Drones delivery should cut emissions if they replace trucks and cars.’
Focus on logistics
Logistics and order fulfilment are the bedrock of ecommerce, and these need to be as fast, reliable and streamlined as possible to satisfy customers of the future. As the global ecommerce industry continues its expansion, there will be a greater strain on logistics and supply chain management.
That’s why we recommend outsourcing your logistics to established experts, who will provide you with the solutions you need and take care of problems, so you can focus on growing your business.
Sprint Logistics makes everything easy for you. We take care of your products and offer scalable retail logistics services to give you the flexibility you need. From our pick-and-pack warehouse to our ecommerce delivery and courier services, our systems allow you to plan, purchase, pause and cancel orders any time, giving you total control over your logistics.
Contact us today to discuss your logistics requirements and we will provide a bespoke service.
