Delivery delays continue to be a major problem in Australia, as even the biggest couriers struggle to keep up with the online shopping boom of the past six months.
According to a recent report from Australia Post, August was the biggest month in Australian online shopping history, surpassing the 2019 pre-Christmas peak by 8.9% and the previous largest period, April 2020, by 5.8%. The general consensus is that we have seen five years’ worth of eCommerce growth in just a few months, thanks to COVID-19.
But despite their best efforts, logistics networks have not scaled up at a similar pace, and they remain under enormous strain. The staffing restrictions on warehouses and DCs in Victoria during Stage 4 have only compounded the problem. Australia Post said on September 1 that it was seeing an average delay of one day in New South Wales and three to four days in Victoria.
Fast delivery is typically one of the top priorities for online shoppers, and while many customers have accepted the longer delivery windows due to COVID-19, others have been dissatisfied with the experience. It’s important to prepare customers for possible delays at the point of purchase. We implemented a banner across all tracking pages to better align customer expectations.
Another way to improve the customer experience is by upgrading your shipping offer to include a same day delivery option. This gives customers the opportunity to choose faster delivery at checkout if it’s important to them, which could mean fewer lost sales for you.
In normal circumstances, the cost of same day delivery can be hard to justify, but these are not normal times. In addition, we recently reduced our Allied Express rates by over 15%. Prices begin at $6.10 for delivery in 3-hour time slots between 9am and 4pm in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Prices are based on shipping from CBD suburbs and dependent on distance.
Here’s what the same day delivery fulfilment process looks like:
If you want to offer same day delivery without disappointing customers, you’ll need to ensure you have a separate workflow for standard and priority orders. Here’s what an ideal, same day delivery fulfilment process involves:
Receive order
Once the order is received in Shippit, the contact person on your account will receive an email notification, so it’s important that your contact is up to date.
Ready time
You will have one hour to pick, pack and have your order ready for pick-up.
Pick and pack
We recommend implementing a pick-and-pack process that prioritises same day orders over express and standard.
Prepare the parcel for pick-up
Once it’s packed, the parcel needs to be correctly labelled and left in a place that can be easily seen when the driver arrives.
Pick-up
We recommend keeping a parking spot free near the loading dock or access area near the parcel, so the driver can quickly collect it and be on their way.
Out for delivery
Our data shows that over 20% of same day deliveries over 20km experience delays, so we recommend limiting the delivery distance for same day orders to 10-20km.
Delivery
The driver will knock on the customer’s door, and if no one is home, the parcel will be left in a safe place.
Delivery issue
If there are any issues, you can contact our support team by emailing us or live-chatting directly in the app.
See how to activate our same day delivery rates in your Shippit account in our support article here.