Topic of the week – Consumer delivery preferences (Creating delivery personas)
When it comes to online shopping, delivery types and preferences play a large role in solidifying the purchase. If consumers can’t find the right delivery options to suit their needs, they will most likely look somewhere else that has. However, not all consumers are the same and the fastest and cheapest delivery options may not be right for everyone. There are many other factors that come into play when looking at consumer delivery preferences on a wider scale, and creating delivery personas is a great way to understand how your consumers think about home delivery.
There are many factors that contribute to varying delivery personas such as speed, cost, and added-value like sustainability. Age and product type must also be considered, as certain demographics may prioritise different factors. Studies have shown that younger demographics are more inclined to prioritise the speed of the delivery over the cost, which results in spending more on delivery, whilst older demographics were more focused on the delivery options that would cost the least. Overall, the main priority across all demographics was reducing the cost of delivery over reducing delivery transit times. Consumers buying product types such as books and entertainment goods were found to choose the lowest cost delivery methods. However, groceries and medicines bought online, require faster, more precise delivery methods.
Sustainable shipping options are becoming increasingly popular, especially amongst younger demographics. In 2021, 44% of people were willing to pay for eco-friendly delivery in the UK but said it depends on the amount of the surcharge. 19% said that they would definitely pay for eco-friendly delivery, whilst 32% said they would not. When given a criteria for online deliveries, 12% of respondents felt that CO2 neutral shipping was the most important factor.
With all of this mind, you will find that most carriers will provide a range of delivery types and methods suitable for a range of delivery personas as well as different parcel types. The rise in parcel lockers has generated a new type of delivery persona. There are now 39,683 Pick Up Drop Off (PUDO) delivery locations across the UK across all carriers. It is very important to study your delivery personas and see how your organisation may be able to broaden its home delivery reach.
In other news
Wingcopter’s drone-based delivery
German delivery drone developer, Wingcopter, have recently received an investment from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Wingcopter’s delivery drones are purely electric, with hydrogen based fuel developments being made for the future, and aim to provide emission-free final mile delivery solutions, with the ability to supply harder to reach areas.
Wingcopter delivery drones are already delivering medicines and medical supplies to rural communities in Malawi as part of a joint project with UNICEF. Wingcopter is already ahead of most competitors in terms of flight times and speed, and a new hydrogen energy system should not only provide even longer flight times and distances, but continues the drive towards more sustainable shipping solutions. These investments look to expand the use of these drones on a wider scale by obtaining the correct regulatory approval.
Google’s new AI shopping experience
AI is everywhere at the moment, and if you hadn’t already heard of ChatGPT it would be surprising. The AI chatbot from OpenAI has been making waves in the industry, so it is no surprise that other companies have been hot on their heels, releasing their own AI functionalities, one of those being tech giant Google. Google are set to test their AI technology, Bard, in fashion shopping with what they call a “Search Generative Experience”.
Bard is to be integrated as part of the search experience, reducing the difficulty consumers face when looking for products. Google’s intention is to create a more streamlined and seamless search experience, with faster and more accurate results. As more and more fashion retailers are implementing AI virtual assistants on their websites that can provide more than just answers to generic questions, it will be interesting to see how Google’s newest AI venture stacks up.
eCommerce Market Stats
See some statistics relating to this week’s topics in the eCommerce market below.
Delivery preference stats
When asked what the most important factor of delivery was, with the option to choose multiple answers, 1028 respondents showed that they prioritised:
- Free shipping – 69%
- Fast shipping – 53%
- Shipment tracking – 47%
- Freely selectable delivery time slot – 24%
Drone Delivery Stats
7% of drone usage was generated through delivery in the transportation and warehousing industry worldwide in 2021
The global drone delivery market is projected to reach $4.35 billion USD by 2027
Projected global drone delivery market size in 2023, by region (in USD)
- Asia Pacific - $654 million
- North America - $503.1 million
- Europe - $352.2 million
- ROW - $167.7 million
AI Stats
The Global Artificial Intelligence market is expected to reach $207.9 billion USD by the end of 2023. It is projected to cross an impressive $1 trillion USD by 2028.
The chatbot market revenue is forecast to cross US$10 billion by 2026
Global Robotic AI market to be worth US$78 billion by 2030
In 2022 12.2% of AI use cases consisted of automated customer service agents
*All statistics sourced from Statista
That’s all for this week…
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