For this post, we thought that it seemed appropriate to open up a new category in our Wordpress Blog: “Online Retail”. After reading an article on 4th August 2010, which announced the news that the retail giant Argos is to be trialing a ’same-day’ delivery service in London, we thought the issue of ‘delivery times’ seemed relevant.
The article explains….
The retailer has teamed up with same-day delivery start-up Shutl for the trial, which will last six months. The service is available to customers with a central London postcode with prices starting at £4.95.
Eligible shoppers will be able to choose the Shutl delivery option on their reservation page, with the option to ‘Shutl now’ or ‘Shutl later’. The second option allows customers to choose a delivery time within a 48-hour reservation window.
Once they confirm their order, Shutl will send them a tracking email which lets them watch their delivery process in real time on a GPS-enabled map.
The service is being made available for a one-hour delivery slot between 9am and 9pm, seven days a week.
Our thoughts…
As a company who offers the fastest UK delivery for the skilled art of gold blocking coloured and HB pencils, we understand that fast delivery times is something which customers value.
Personalisation requires both high-tech machinery, skilled operators and of course, time. We quote a despatch estimate of 3-5 working days on most of our personalised items and believe that we offer an extremely high level of service to our customers.
The difference between Personalised Gift Ideas and Argos, is that obviously, the items which Argos are offering their customers can be put straight into the back of a lorry and sent to the customer, with little/no delay for personalisation, packing or gift wrapping. I think that for people who live in London, who stereotypically have busy lifestyles, this ’same-day delivery’ is a great idea, but do you think Argos will be able to uphold this promise to customers? Just think about the supply chain issues which are involved in making this sort of a decision….
- Stock for a start – Think about how much stock the regional warehouses will have to hold to be able to uphold short lead times on Argos items around the busy streets of London.
- Delivery Vans – A fair number of delivery vans will have to be put onto the roads to cope with the demand which Argos are expecting for their “Check & Reserve” service.
- Complaints – When I read this story, I did immediately sense complaints. If Argos customers are only at home for one day and their delivery does not arrive… I don’t imagine they would be too happy with the new speedy “Shutl delivery” service.
To conclude…
Do you think that Argos will be able to uphold this delivery commitment? Do you think that online customers expect things to be with them far too quickly?
In our line of work, there are many people who are thrilled that their orders arrive within the week, but there are others who think that ordering personalised pencils on a Friday (last minute) and receiving them the following Wednesday is unacceptable. No matter what you do, there are always customers who will have different views towards delivery times…. but to offer ’same-day’ delivery could, in my opinion, be a bad move.
All thoughts are welcome as always.
The P.G.I Team
Personalised Gift Ideas
