Quick Commerce: The Need for Speed in the Modern Customer Journey

In today’s “always-on” world, speed has become an essential part of everyday life. This became even more apparent during the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 when delivery and fulfilment providers started to catch up with customer expectations for their food and groceries to arrive within an hour.?

As countries around the world exit the pandemic, speed and convenience continue to be core necessities for customers - in fact, a study by PwC found that over 40% of customers view products taking longer to be delivered than expected as a key obstacle in their online shopping journey. Can quick commerce be the solution that brands are looking for?

In this article, we investigate the quick commerce trend and discuss how brands can take advantage of this phenomenon to respond to rapidly evolving customer needs.?

What is quick commerce?

Described as the next generation of e-commerce, quick commerce involves accelerating the delivery cycle to reduce the time between the order being placed and delivery. With quick commerce, customers can expect delivery on the same day or even within an hour of placing an order. As this trend grows, quick delivery times that customers have come to expect from items like food delivery have expanded to a much wider range of products including categories like fashion and technology.?

How can quick commerce help retail brands succeed online?

E-Commerce brands that are looking to scale and grow in today’s rapidly changing world will benefit from diving into the quick commerce revolution. Here are some key reasons why:

Enables seamless customer experiences

In today’s retail environment, having a purchase journey that is efficient, smooth and enjoyable is crucial for attracting and retaining customers. The main convenience that quick commerce offers over traditional e-commerce and physical stores is reducing the delay and setbacks that customers may face when they are making purchases. The frictionless quick commerce experience, thus, removing purchase blockers - incentivising both impulse and repeat purchases.?

Acts as a competitive differentiator

Speed of delivery is a key factor for customers to decide whether to purchase from a brand. Today, only some brands offer same-day delivery and other quick-commerce services, especially outside of the food and grocery industries. For brands looking to get ahead of the curve, offering quick commerce helps move the needle over competitors, especially for customers making time-sensitive or last-minute purchases.?

Provides opportunities for higher margins

Customers are willing to pay a premium for faster deliveries that keep up with their lifestyles. Brands that offer exceptional convenience and speed are able to compete with an experience that commands higher prices. At the same time, customers are often willing to pay more on top of the sticker price for offerings like 3-hour or same-day deliveries. For companies looking to increase their order value, quick commerce presents a massive profit opportunity by offering a better service that customers desire.?

How can brands get started with quick commerce?

With clear advantages for brands to start offering quick commerce options, here are some essential steps for brands that want to implement this exciting new evolution of commerce:?

Store your products close to customers?

To start, the quick commerce process requires local hubs or warehouses close to customers to pick up, package and deliver products speedily to them. By ensuring that products are close to customers, products can be delivered with less turnaround time and at a cheaper price. Many third-party logistics (3PL) companies like SingPost offer warehouse solutions like regional and local distribution centres that store inventory with products shipped directly from manufacturers. When a customer places their order online the products will be shipped from the closest available 3PL warehouse for the fastest possible delivery.?

Manage inventory based on demand

To quickly react to changes and fluctuations in demand, businesses need to closely manage inventory levels for quick commerce stock. Using historical data and market research, they should select a list of products to offer express delivery options to deliver popular and relevant products as quickly as possible. Businesses can use inventory management software to help them automatically track inventory levels. This means that they use automation to avoid selling products that have run out of stock and order new stock when levels are slow.???

How can SHOPLINE help you with your quick commerce strategy?

SHOPLINE helps you to simplify quick commerce by having your e-commerce and social commerce pages work together with localised logistics and fulfilment. In this way, you can focus on running your business while SHOPLINE’s platform helps you to distribute your products?

SHOPLINE works with a vast global fulfilment network including leading local logistics gateways and providers like SingPost, NinjaVan, EasyParcel and Janio. Additionally, smart warehousing, freight and shipping integrations through OneShip, OneCargo and OneWarehouse empower merchants looking to deliver their products quickly, effectively and across borders.?

We highly recommend using SHOPLINE to grow and scale your business. It’s easy to use, perfect for beginners, and incredibly affordable. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to get started. ?

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