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If the past couple of years have taught us anything it’s that no one can really predict the future. It wasn’t long ago that experts were anticipating the rise of experience-led retail to save bricks and mortar stores. Then, boom – the pandemic hit, causing a shutdown like we’ve never seen before (and fingers crossed, won’t see again anytime soon!)
While there’s no crystal ball for knowing how eCommerce will pan out in 2022, we’re taking a stab at 5 of the delivery trends that we think we’ll be seeing a lot of next year.
1 - The Rise of Timed Delivery Slots
We’ve talked about how timed delivery slots are on the up and up, and we have a feeling that 2022 is the year that delivery expectation scales might tilt from speed to accuracy.
Royal Mail’s ‘Delivery Matters’ 2020 report showed that shoppers used next-day timed delivery an average of two times in the previous year. This was significantly less than standard shipping (eleven times in a year). Interestingly enough, 45% of those surveyed expect an estimated day or time of day for their orders to arrive, while 22% expect to be notified of a 3-4 hour window for delivery. Was this foreshadowing the need for timed delivery slots to be integrated into retailers’ online stores? Even with standard shipping, customers increasingly expect accuracy. Using timed delivery slots gives brands the power to keep up their end of the bargain while giving shoppers the power to choose a window of time that best suits them. Win-win.