The delivery dilemma
Nizla Naizer
In this episode
Even prior to the pandemic, there was an inevitable shift to online purchasing. But how do we ensure this widening acceptance of online buying does not backfire on the planet in the form of unsustainable delivery levels? We propose a system to bring all parties in the delivery value chain to the table, and suggest an incentive system that grades rewards with the intention of sending non-urgent deliveries to specific areas on specific days.
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What we discuss
- According to a proprietary survey carried out by Deutsche Bank’s dbDIG Primary Research team, consumers all over are purchasing more than they ever have online and they are likely to keep spending at above-average levels going forward.
- In categories such as fashion, where online penetration has reached nearly 20% pre-pandemic, growth has reached double-digit rates for even the most mature players in the last two quarters. In online grocery, where online penetration levels were previously around two per cent in developed markets, growth for some players have been in the triple digit range.
- However, with the volume of deliveries expanding at such a rate, as consumers, we need to ask ourselves a question: Is this the best solution given the impact on the environment and cities? On the flipside, some studies say online shopping is better for the environment compared with physical retail given, for instance, the emissions you save with fewer trips to the store or accounting for the optimised routes that the larger logistics companies can take.
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