Learn Everything about the On Demand Delivery Market
The world of shopping saw a sudden invasion by the e-commerce market due to the pandemic. Right now, there are 24 million+ e-commerce websites across the globe.
The latest trend in this industry is fueled by instant gratification. Anything less than that undoubtedly makes a consumer unhappy.
Enter Q-commerce. Known popularly as on-demand delivery, this latest trend in online shopping is a speed-based model. Consumers get access to whatever they want, whenever they want.
What is q-commerce/ on demand delivery?
In essence, q-commerce (or quick commerce) is e-commerce sped up. The whole operating system of the two markets is the same, except q-commerce comes with lightning-fast deliveries. In fact, it has been reported that 70% of customers will be more than happy to pay extra if faster deliveries are available. After all, people invariably prefer comfort and convenience over anything else.
In an on-demand delivery model, multiple logistics, sales processes, and the latest technological innovations (AI) come together to enable fast and efficient deliveries. Most businesses leverage automation, social media (and other online) platforms, and a clever chain of procurement and supply to make sure customers receive their goods in the shortest time possible.
Think of most of your food services and cab services as examples of on-demand delivery. Others include Instacart, Grubhub, Doctor on Demand, PharmEasy, etc.
PS: If you are an ecommerce owner, you may want to check out our blogs on digital marketing tips for ecommerce businesses.
What makes a successful on demand delivery service?
#1. A plethora of options:
The key to success for any quick delivery service is the availability of a wide range of options. Other than products, things like scheduling delivery times, same-day delivery, pickup, delivery costs, etc., play a huge role in making sure you have enough customers.
#2. Delivery tracking:
Some of the best q-commerce businesses work because of this particular option. When a consumer can live-track their order, a sense of trust is built. Constant notifications and ETA updates provide a wholesome experience that customers enjoy. Besides, if the delivery is delayed for any reason, updating the consumers reduces the probability of dissatisfaction. People are bound to keep coming back to your enterprise if you manage to master successful live-tracking. Make sure the tracking is effortless and is not rife with real-time lag.
#3. Automation:
In order to make everything quick and easy, a certain amount of automation is necessary. Manual work processes inadvertently slow things down. When customers are used to the high standards of Amazon Prime and Uber, you need to give them a reason to love your business. Hopping on to a delivery management system will allow a lot of the end-to-end process to become more manageable.
#4. Customer Service:
Any e-commerce requires impeccable customer service. From answering FAQs to quick and results-oriented complaint replies, good customer service ensures a higher retention rate. Not only will the existing customers appreciate a good complaint resolve, but your brand reputation will also become increasingly positive. The result? New customers will flock to your website.
#5. Seamless workflow:
Having a workflow with all the roles and responsibilities charted out perfectly well is the way to go. Besides automation, this is the most important step. Obviously, automating the process can help you, but the before and after of the automated steps need to be well-drafted. Any ups and downs there can ruin the entire process. Real-time coordination is a must to stay on the top of the game.
Benefits of q-commerce
#1. Delivery ASAP:
The USP of q-commerce is the option to avail lightning fast deliveries. With the pandemic, all households resorted to ordering goods online. Same-day delivery services grew rampantly. The success of any online shop lies in its ability to adopt an on demand delivery system. Most on demand operations run micro-stores or warehouses, or fulfillment centers. Such dark stores usually exist far and wide across multiple cities. This makes hourly deliveries as quick as you can imagine. Per reports, dark stores ensure 25% faster deliveries.
#2. Product Range and Availability:
Door-to-door delivery of perishable goods has become a reality due to q-commerce services. With the click of a button, anyone can order urgent grocery deliveries. The addition of AI and other technological innovations to the whole process also allows for guaranteed delivery of a shipment. For instance, if one micro-fulfillment store is out of stock, the products can be procured from another one nearby. Consumers get what they want every single time.
#3. Works 24/7:
If you crave midnight ice cream, you no longer need to scour the streets to search for a shop. With on demand delivery, it will be at your doorstep within an hour. A major plus for any enterprise, be it q-commerce or e-commerce, or regular commerce, is 24/7 accessibility. Being at your customers’ disposal whenever they need you always earn extra brownie points. We now live in a world where we can get whatever we want whenever we want.
#4. Reduced Operation Costs:
As with any e-commerce enterprise, the infrastructure costs are reduced to the bare minimum. Q-commerce models run on micro-storages, meaning a whole investment in buying and maintaining a huge warehouse is reduced. Automation also is key with on demand delivery services. This means that a lot of unnecessary labor costs are reduced. Reduced operation costs also allow businesses to offer competitive and attractive prices. All in all, investment is low, and profit margins can be really high.
#5. Increased Customer Acquisition:
On-demand has a reach beyond the regular brick-and-mortar stores. When ordering with a click of a button is possible, more and more customers turn to such enterprises. The wide product range, the high customer service, 1-2 hour deliveries, guaranteed product availability- all play a considerable role in acquiring new customers and keeping the current client base happy and satisfied. Convenience and ease of access are a big-time magnet for consumers.
The future of e-commerce is q-commerce
The way consumers are shopping has considerably changed over the past few years. These are the times of online shopping. The entry of quick commerce or on demand delivery services in the current marketplace has shifted logistics. In this day and age, people prefer anything that can save them time and effort. Door-to-door deliveries and same-day deliveries offer the kind of convenience that the world previously only dreamt of. Q-commerce is indeed the future of the retail industry. The use of technology in the whole on demand model only makes it more enticing. This also opens up a vast array of future possibilities.
According to Niklas Östberg, CEO and co-founder of Delivery Hero, “We have now entered the era of quick commerce. This category offers a tremendous opportunity that has gone largely untapped.”
The market share of Q commerce is increasing irrespective of the market or product segment. Companies are now focusing more on customer acquisition and market share rather than profits. Eventually brick and mortar stores will have to diversify their business streams to ensure stability and sustainability. The market size of Quick Commerce is expected to grow to around $525 billion globally by 2030.
Companies have started exploring and adopting digitization concepts like delivery of goods by drones, machine learning, and IoT.
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