By Dan Reiss  

Nowadays it seems like consumers want everything delivered to their door or office right away, sometimes within hours of placing their order. Retailers and service providers are scrambling to offer free delivery, free returns and are racing to be the fastest to get their package into their customers’ hands while charging a premium for this service.

Is it really necessary? How many people are really willing to pay more just so they can order a pair of shoes during lunch and have it delivered before they leave the office? Sure it’s a nice add-on and it’s great that retailers can provide such an immediate response but why not offer convenience at a lower cost than speed at a premium.

Let’s look into locker delivery options. Amazon.com partnered with Transport for London to install locker bays in subway stations. Now you can pick up your parcel at the subway on your commute home. Luxer One puts lockers in apartment buildings which are retailer and carrier agnostic so if you’re expecting a package and don’t have a doorman to hold it for you they’ll leave it in a secure locker with a unique PIN.

What about the frustration of missed deliveries? I’m sure I’m not the only one who was expecting a delivery only to come home to a sticker on my door saying I need to come pick it up at a depot or reschedule the delivery. Startups such as Doorman.it on the West Coast and Parcel here in New York now offer a service where you can have your package shipped to them and then they’ll deliver it to you in the evening between 6pm and midnight. Services like these need to be everywhere!

I’d love to hear your feedback. What’s more important to you? Speed or convenience? We’ll be discussing these strategies and more at our upcoming Home Delivery / Click & Collect / Etail USA Expo, April 8-9 in Atlanta. For more information for the Home Delivery expo check this out: www.terrapinn.com/homedelivery