About 56 percent of online consumers below the age of 34 expect same day delivery when shopping.
Today, the timely delivery of consumer goods is no longer a luxury. However, order fulfillment is a taxing and challenging process, especially for small businesses.
In spite of this, many players have disrupted the market by delivering goods to customers in ways that seemed impossible before. This is where last mile delivery comes in.
So what is last mile delivery? Read on to find out how it works, why your firm needs to adopt it, and how it benefits your business.
What Is Last Mile Delivery?
When a customer places an order, the product goes from the warehouse to a distribution center and finally their doorstep. In some cases, it moves from a fulfillment center to the end customer.
Last mile delivery is the part of the journey where the product moves from the distribution center to customers.
As a business, you need to get last mile delivery right in order to delight your customers. In today’s era of online shopping and instant gratification, making your customers wait can alienate them.
Why Your Business Needs Last Mile Delivery
These days there is a lot of talk concerning last mile delivery. Many pundits laud it as a game changer. The talk invariably heightens anytime Amazon makes a splash in the news about faster delivery to their customers.
But it’s not just the big boys that need to deliver goods fast. Your business needs to use last mile delivery for several reasons.
1. It Can Boost Your Sales
Last mile logistics do have a positive impact on sales. When customers place an order, they expect timely delivery.
Major e-commerce retailers have made same day delivery the norm. Even brick-and-mortar stores now use this option because of the many benefits it gives them and their customers.
As a result, your customers have grown to expect the same of your operations.
An order that arrives in a timely manner makes the customer develop confidence in your business. Due to this confidence, they will think of coming to you when they need to buy something else.
When the new order arrives in a timely manner, customers will want to shift more of their purchases to you.
Moreover, when they tell their friends and family about their pleasant experience, it will be an effective word-of-mouth endorsement. Since it’s human nature to place great trust in a friend’s word, they will also come to buy from you.
These new customers will increase your sales — and all due to your excellent final mile delivery.
An excellent last mile carrier service can also act as a differentiator for a loyalty program for your business.
You can use fast delivery to give customers who sign up more convenience. As a result, you’ll make more revenue as such customers tend to spend more.
2. It Builds Brand Loyalty
Many people have a horror story of a bad experience they’ve had after ordering a product. It could be a late delivery, or maybe goods got lost along the way.
In these circumstances, the customer will be hesitant to buy something else from the same business.
On the other hand, when customers place an order and receive it in a timely manner, it has the opposite effect.
Last mile delivery in such a case makes a customer become more loyal to your brand. A notable example of this is Amazon Prime. The fast delivery time makes people subscribe to this service.
3. You Can Expand Your Product Line
Not every item that a customer will buy is one they have planned to purchase in advance. In fact, these are often just things they buy when they need them.
Take food, for example. While a customer knows he will eat at some point, he doesn’t sit down to schedule an order. He simply opens an app or a website when feeling hungry and places an order.
Certain types of last mile delivery options can open up more products you can sell to customers. Same day delivery, for example, can help your business cater to these necessary but unplanned purchases.
In the end, the more stuff you can sell to customers, the more revenue you generate.
4. It Makes for Great Advertising
You and your competitors place digital and other types of ads online to gain the attention of the same customer pool. At the end of the day, it’s that one shiny thing appealing to customers that will make them choose you over the competition.
Last mile delivery can help you stand out from the pack when speaking to your customers. Services like same day delivery or even delivery after two hours create a lot of buzz.
When you put your advertisement out there and make such offers, it’s bound to get customers to notice you.
In the end, you’ll kill two birds with one stone: you will deliver to existing customers fast and reach out to potential customers through the buzz. In this way, last mile delivery can help you generate leads and revenue.
Make Last Mile Delivery Work for You
Technology and breakthrough due to competition have led to faster delivery times for customers. As a result, it’s no longer a ‘nice to have’ thing for businesses to deliver parcels quickly. It is now a necessity.
Hopefully, this article answers the question “what is last mile delivery?” It is essential that you seek to understand the critical role it can play in your operations.
Need It Now Delivers understands your need for a dependable last mile service backed by experienced logistics teams. Check out our services today to learn how we can help you serve your customers in record time!
