In April 2022, IMRG conducted a survey of 300 UK retailers to find out what the future of delivery might look like, asking household name retailers about their current practices, and what they hope to change in the future. What are the next big things when it comes to delivery?
IMRG asked 300 retailers about their opinion of delivery subscription models to find out whether these could be a popular option in the future. With the rise of models such as Prime next day delivery, over the pandemic, delivery subscription models can benefit retailers by drawing customers back to their site as they know they’ll have quick, cheap delivery, but they are often difficult to implement or don’t suit a business model. In fact, 59% of retailers said this doesn’t suit their business model, whilst 24% said they’re economically risky. 19% were concerned about sustainability, and 4% said they didn’t like them. Only 7% said they have one and they plan to keep it. This suggests that subscription models are very personal to the business, and must be tailored to the model to make it viable.
What is your opinion on delivery subscription models?
When asking what delivery options retailers were interested in for the future, there were some interesting results. 58% of retailers are thinking of introducing locker or click and collect functions, whilst only 15% were considering delivery hotspots, and 17% thought about a courier waiting whilst customers tried their items. It therefore seems as though click and collect and locker services might prove popular in the future delivery landscape, as these options can provide cheap alternatives for both the retailer and the shopper.
Which of the following delivery options are you interested in for the future?
When asking whether retailers would consider free next day delivery options, the majority said yes, at 53%. 34% said no, and 13% said they already do it. This means that a total of 66% of retailers would consider free next day delivery options or already offer it, suggesting that the number of businesses offering this option might increase hugely in the next few years.
Would you ever consider free next day delivery an option?
From this data, we can identify three major trends: delivery subscriptions models don’t suit every business, so their success depends on the model; lockers, and click and collect could boom over the next few years; free next day delivery is set to increase in the future.