COVER STORY
Last-mile delivery, the Big Bang
As the final stage of an online purchase, the “last-mile” delivery is a crucial step for retailers. We’ve selected the most quirky, innovative and hair-raising recent initiatives, which show how leadership of pure-players sets up new delivery standards.
Until the mid 2000s, the last-mile delivery used to be underestimated by retailers and transportation firms. For consumers, it was often a disappointing and time-wasting experience, with too general time slots (from 09:00 to 14:00), late couriers, damaged products or too expensive prices. Since 2012, this “last-mile” has changed dramatically, as a result of massive volumes of online orders and of new standards set by pure-players. Creative initiatives have rolled out to satisfy a wide set of demanding customers, who have various expectations in terms of cost, speed and precision. “Customised delivery services are expanding, with clients wanting free collection in several days, or a faster paid service for a very specific delivery time slot”, explains Bertrand Pineau, Head of Logistics at Fevad e-commerce Federation in France.
Free…or almost
In the 1990s, a well-established marketing strategy for hypermarkets was to sell basics like milk at a loss. Today, the attraction is by free shipping of online orders. This pricing standard comes from…
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