Blog: Customer expectations are way ahead of retailers on the last mile of delivery

Amazon is pressing ahead with plans for drone delivery, and its aggressive approach to innovation in this area gives an idea of just how crucial the last mile is.

Consumer expectations have rocketed over the past few years, and will continue to rise dramatically when it comes to wanting products the minute they order them. It’s no secret that waiting at home for a delivery isn’t popular, but customer expectations are racing ahead of what services currently on the market can achieve.

New ideas are springing up fast. Locker services are appearing all over the place from vendors including InPost, and Doddle and LocalLetterbox have both announced plans for a national network of conveniently located delivery pods and stores that include changing rooms.

But expectations are still running way ahead of what’s on offer. Retailers and third party logistics providers have a lot of work to do, and perhaps the biggest challenge is that they continue to be constrained by actually making it profitable.

In a ‘want it now’ world where shoppers won’t wait, the options might get better once a stronger delivery infrastructure of delivery pods and lockers is in place. But it will take at least a couple of years before the infrastructure is equal to consumers’ expectations.