Same-day delivery and express delivery – a review of the situation

The party is taking place in the evening, but a few important utensils are still missing, which may not be available in a stationary store in a hurry. That’s why another solution is needed: same-day delivery. Unfortunately, this often works better in theory than in practice, because many online stores do not offer this option at all. In doing so, they miss out on a large part of their sales as well as the chance to bind customers to the online store in the long term.

Why is same-day delivery and express delivery so important?

Sometimes things have to happen fast, because your mother’s birthday or the next spontaneous party is coming up. But that now means that a gift or outfit must come as quickly as possible. Who also (especially now) stationary stores still likes to avoid or but has no way to go there, which makes use of the possibility via same-day delivery or express delivery to order.

But how do Germany’s top 100 online stores actually fare when it comes to same-day delivery and express delivery? In our e-commerce shipping study, we got to the bottom of this and other questions and subjected the checkout, shipping and returns of the most successful online retailers in Germany to a detailed analysis.

Germany’s top 100 online stores – status quo for same-day delivery and express delivery

How do the German top 100 online stores actually fare when it comes to same-day delivery and express delivery? Our E-Commerce Shipping Study 2020 shows that the results are relatively sobering: Only 25 of the most successful German online stores offer their customers express delivery. In the E-Commerce Shipping Study 2018, things looked somewhat different. 40 of the top 100 online stores offered their customers express delivery. When it comes to same-day delivery, things look even more devastating. Three online retailers allow their shoppers to use this delivery option. In 2018, the rate was still 11 percent.

What about the additional costs for same-day delivery and express delivery? Here, a reduction from an average of 10.20 euros to 9.63 euros was recorded.

Since times of Covid-19, the possibility of same-day delivery and express delivery has declined even further, as many retailers had to deal with bottlenecks in logistics as well as enormous growth in parcel volumes. In contrast, it is even more important to customers right now to receive their goods quickly, as they are currently reluctant to go downtown despite stores being open.

One company that advertises same-day delivery to its customers is Amazon. There, shoppers can have certain products delivered directly on the same day.

Same-day delivery: Amazon shows the way

Amazon has been offering its Prime customers the option of same-day delivery for some time now. From a minimum order value of 20 euros, Prime customers can benefit from this service for free. Buyers without Prime membership, on the other hand, pay 9.99 euros for their same-day delivery.

How does Same-Day Delivery work at Amazon

?

Customers choose a product with the “Same Day” logo and add items with an order value of at least 20 euros to their shopping cart. In the last step, the same-day delivery option must be selected in the checkout. To receive the package on the same day, customers must place their order by 12 noon.

Discover and implement optimization potential

.

In times when e-commerce continues to grow, it is even more important to make products available to customers as quickly as possible. Moreover, anyone who has been in the city center since the easing of exit restrictions knows for themselves that it is usually not worth standing in line for an eternity in front of a store, only to end up perhaps not finding what they are looking for. That’s why it’s even more important right now for online retailers to optimize their operations experience (OX) by offering same-day delivery and/or express delivery. This not only ensures more sales, but also happy customers who will return in the future.

Want even more insights from our 2020 E-Commerce Shipping Study? Here you can download the complete study…