Consumers Are Content with E-Commerce Delivery Speeds
Key Takeaways
Consumers generally expect their online orders to arrive at their doorsteps within five days, though groceries are an exception with much higher expectations for same-day delivery.
Shoppers with higher incomes, urban dwellers, millennials and men are more likely to expect their orders to arrive faster, within two days.
Usage of buy online, pick up in store services has been relatively consistent over time, and presents a mutually beneficial alternative to same- or next-day delivery for retailers seeking to reduce fulfillment costs.
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How often do you actually need same-day or next-day delivery for online orders? Sure, sometimes there’s a truly urgent need, like getting the perfect packable sun hat or new noise canceling headphones delivered in time for your vacation, but for the most part orders don’t actually need to arrive within two working days. And yet, brands continue to invest in fast shipping as a selling point for their customers. Per a recent Morning Consult survey, if you’re delivering orders within five days you’re probably doing just fine.
Consumers expect to receive most of their online orders within five days
For most categories, online orders should arrive within five days to meet consumers’ expectations. Groceries are a clear exception, where online orders need to arrive in time to make dinner. Grocery items with longer delivery windows include frozen or shelf-stable items. Beauty and personal care items have a slightly shorter delivery expectation window than apparel. These consumables need to be refilled at regular intervals — no one wants to run out of shampoo mid-week. Beauty and personal care products also can degrade in high temperatures in the back of delivery trucks, so longer delivery windows in the summer months mean risking decreased product quality on arrival.
Aside from groceries, consumers generally expect their online orders to arrive within five days
Apparel and personal electronics products don’t have the same shelf stability or urgency challenges, so the expected delivery window for that category is slightly more generous. Home furnishings and appliances often require specialized, scheduled deliveries and often take much longer than two weeks to arrive. Retailers selling small home decor items like lamps and throw pillows should still aim to fulfill orders within a week as they can’t count on the same leeway consumers give for a sofa or refrigerator which often have much longer lead times.
Wealthy consumers, millennials, urbanites and men have faster delivery expectations
Customers who do expect their deliveries within two days have a distinct demographic profile: They are more likely to be male, a millennial, an urban dweller and have a higher household income. For these consumers it’s all about convenience, and fast delivery is a key part of that perception.
Delivery speed expectations vary for key demographics
Urban areas are generally better served by fulfillment networks for faster final mile delivery, while rural areas with greater distance between delivery stops are less efficient. In fact, UPS and USPS have intentionally slowed delivery speeds in certain rural areas for that reason. This shouldn’t be too disruptive for rural consumers who have a stronger preference for in-store shopping anyway.
Buy online, pick up in store services offer a strong alternative to fast final mile delivery
If a customer does have a real need to receive their order in a day or two, they’re likely willing to go to a nearby store to pick up the item themself. Strong omnichannel fulfillment services and accurate inventory visibility online are of course necessary for that to work for the consumer.
Consumers use in-store pickup services fairly consistently
Convenience is more important than speed for shoppers using store pick up options for online orders, and the time saved from browsing the store is still a convenient benefit for shoppers and a fair compromise with retailers seeking to reduce final mile delivery costs.
