Is same day delivery retailer emphasis matching customer priorities?

Same Day Delivery options remain firmly in the news as just under three weeks remain until Christmas in what promises to be the busiest year yet for online retailers. Some analysts are predicting that for the U.S. this will be the year where online shopping totals exceed traditional bricks and mortar retailing for the first time ever and those who have added same day delivery choices look to secure a piece of that growing trend.

I've read a number of studies this week that show consumers view free delivery as the most important consideration for eCommerce decisions and while companies such as Google, eBay, Macy's and Nordstrom are focusing on same day delivery the number one selling point for shoppers is free shipping. Logic dictates that there is in fact no such thing as free shipping but eTailers have made huge strides in offering such services regardless. To create the illusion of free shipping online stores have added thresholds tied to the total value of the purchase which then qualifies for ''free delivery'. It's a clever and very successful way of making a huge percentage of shoppers add one more item to their shopping basket to save on shipping costs but establish larger purchases, I know I've done it many times and doubtless you have to.

Worth noting is that the number one reason for shoppers abandoning their online shopping cart before checkout is when learning the final delivery costs.

Even with the knowledge that low or free shipping costs are a larger 'want' for consumers than same day delivery the experimentation and growth within the market continues unabated. As leaders in B2B same day delivery we watch on with interest as the pricing point and adoption rate for same day delivery continue to be undetermined in the retailer market, not to mention the very specific locations/areas that are offered such services.

One growing trend that is causing consumers frustration when buying online is seeing 'same day delivery' advertised on a site but not reading the fine print which explains that the service means same day delivery from the point of shipping on the day it was ordered, but not reaching its destination the same day. In-store pick up service has also accelerated in popularity this year with almost all large retailers responding to consumer demand for this option.

It's interesting to see that same day delivery services for retailers are expanding and succeeding most rapidly in Germany, Switzerland and Austria - all smaller nations in size with much higher population density than we see domestically, these considerations make a near national same day delivery service infinitely easier to devise and implement. Only the largest metropolitan areas and perhaps the corridor of population in the Northeast lend themselves well to a similar model here in the states.