With the rise of expedited shipping allowing for next or even same day deliveries, consumers seem to expect their goods faster than ever. On demand marketing is more prevalent than ever, with the fastest dispatch and delivery often winning the purchase.
Mobile Use
Mobile users expect to find what they’re looking for right away. Those confronted with too many steps or a slow loading site will quickly move on. Marketers can play on this by providing a super simple checkout process and a faster user experience overall, in order to make impulse purchases more likely.
This all feeds into a shorter lifecycle for users, as they want to have their purchases as quickly as possible. The added strain on the logistics network can then be felt by the dispatcher. Rajapack, a packaging company, theorises that this will lead to the rise of autonomous shipping vehicles and dispatching methods like drone shipping.
Google has reported that time-based modifiers are becoming increasingly popular in search results. More and more people are looking for same day delivery, opening times, and nearby options. This increase in searches shows that we want our items close by or shipped to us quickly.
Convenience is King
The rise of convenience-based businesses can be seen across many industries. Services like Uber and Deliveroo have demonstrated how quickly a newcomer to the market can prosper by satisfying the growing demand for greater convenience and simplification.
Of course, convenience means different things in different situations. In some contexts, what feels more convenient can actually involve more effort for the consumer. For example, self service check-outs in supermarkets or home-printed boarding passes involve more effort for the customer, yet they can save time and provide greater control over the experience. This growing trend for self service functionality not only creates a greater sense of convenience, it also reduces service costs to the business.
Into the Future
As we move towards the future, brands that recognise the customer demand for greater convenience are more likely to succeed.
Companies like Amazon are continuing to develop their delivery processes to make their store synonymous with speedy and reliable delivery. This nets them a massive amount of sales, though development can also use up their resources.
Dispatch via drones and autonomous vehicles may once have sounded like science fiction, but these technologies now exist, and are currently being developed for market in an attempt to meet the evolving demand for greater speed and convenience. It may only be a few years until drones are delivering products to a designated drop off spot on a consumer’s property within hours of an order being processed.
Conclusion
It’s clear that consumers are becoming more impatient, and in many ways it’s hardly surprising. Our lives are busier and more complex than ever before due to the level of connectivity we experience and the volume of information we absorb on a daily basis. Increased stress, information overload, and the work life balance are concerns all over the world, and so experiencing greater convenience and simplicity as consumers can help readdress the balance.
