The Fragrance Shop Steps Up Online, Launches Same-Day Delivery Testing

If you didn't think that Same-Day Delivery would break the barrier and move beyond being just a trend, big companies are proving the shipping option can be a staple within any industry. All types of businesses are engaging in fast delivery, including UK's The Fragrance Shop which has made the shift from just offering next-day delivery to same day.

Essential Retail recently reported the popular fragrance retailer has announced the roll-out of it's new one-hour delivery service. It will also be adding next-day delivery to its line of online shipping options. Prior to the move, The Fragrance Shop only provided online customers a standard and a nominated day delivery, as well as weekend and a click & collect service options. Once it received positive results from its fast next-day and click & collect options, The Fragrance Shop initiated implementing its one-hour services.

Fragrance Shop's head of eCommerce Mark Kelly discussed the new one-hour service and its' strategic decisions to meet online shopper demand there. He said, "Fragrances are typically purchased as a last minute gift, so speed and flexibility of delivery is important. We want to maximize on this by making it easier for customers to make these guilt-free, eleventh-hour purchases. We chose to implement Shutl based on the company's standing as a market leader in same day delivery and the fact we share the same ethos for superior customer service."

As other retailers in the US have done, which is partnering with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to for fast shipping options, The Fragrance shop is partnering with delivery company Shutl to pick up and delivery from its' 177 stores nationwide. Kelly added, "Shutl enables us to interact with our customers quickly, and in the manner of their choosing. This doesn't just give customers greater control over when they receive their purchases, but by keeping the delivery time short, they are less likely to change or cancel their order or contact customer services for delivery updates."

The UK has been experienced other big name retailers launching same-day services, such as supermarket grocery store chain giant Sainsbury. The company launched same-day grocery delivery in July, with plans to expand the service in 30 more areas throughout the country. Testing will begin in three stores, and then implement same-day delivery in 30 areas in the country by Christmas. With the holiday season almost here, The Fragrance Shop is looking to create a client base during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As with other big name retailers, the Fragrance Shop too has the product shoppers want, yet they desire for their purchase to be brought to them. This is where A-1 Express can a Los Angeles Courier that performs delivery analysis and develops a same-day solution to meet consumer demand. If Amazon is is doing it, others retailers can do it also. The Fragrance Shop will now be able to compete within the delivery sector and get their products into their customers' hands fast.

Reference: 8.10.16, www.essentialretail.com, Caroline Baldwin, The Fragrance Shop rolls out one-hour delivery

Convenient Shopping Helped Holiday Online Sales Grow

The holiday shopping season has come and gone, giving a lot of retailers hope for their online sales momentum going into the new year. Internet Retailer reported about how e-commerce sales went up this year by 20% between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. This shows that more and more shoppers are becoming more comfortable with the convenience of purchasing online.

The data was gathered by MasterCard Advisors and the company's findings was based on national US retail sales across all payments types between November 27th (Black Friday) and December 24th, right before Christmas. The article mentioned how lower gas prices helped with the sales increase. Also, part of the online sales increase can be attributed to consumers lacking time to shop in stores. In addition, they can buy a gift and have it delivered; however, the recipient can handle the return if they don't like the gift.

The National Retail Federation in October predicted that retail sales during November and December will grow 3.7% compared with 2014. On-store sales—which include online and mail-order catalogs, telephone sales and other direct-to-consumer sales that do not take place online—would grow by 6-8%. Also, an October NRF survey showed that online shopping would account for almost 50% of purchases this holiday season, and that consumers, on average, said 46% of their holiday shopping this year will be done online, up from 44.4% in 2014.

ComScore Inc. forecasted that online sales would be lower than the 20% increase this year. Therefore, consumers surprised businesses with how they came out and shopped online during the 2015 holiday season. There is a level of visibility that retailers have brought to the web that makes it easy for shoppers to research, compare and make the purchase that makes the most sense. Also, in-store pick up is helping department stores like Macy's transition its' customers from online into its' store. They can bypass long lines by simply ordering online, which again save times and adds convenience to the shopping process that customers want.

Online growth is still small in comparison with in-store sales. Sarah Quinlan, MasterCard Advisors’ senior vice president of market insights, stated in the article, “I don’t believe this kind of growth is sustainable, and I think we’ll see a return to more single-digit growth numbers after the first of the year. Even with the surge in online spending growth, it’s still only 10% of total retail sales during this holiday period, so the share is still not huge. Consumers are doing their homework online and not necessarily executing there."

Online business isn't a huge total of retail sales, yet it is a growing one, commanding the attention of companies to stay current with e-commerce. For example, Amazon, Google, and more are causing same-day delivery to become a staple service with online business because of more market segments it provides access to. Many shoppers, especially younger age groups, like the convenience of utilizing their tech gadgets to get online items delivered right to their front door or workplace.

As same-day delivery grows along with e-commerce, more companies will be inclined to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to perform the actual service for them. The Portland Courier implements same-day solutions for a variety of businesses nationwide, which is plus for retailers pursuing to compete online.

Reference: 12.28.15, www.internetretailer.com, Tracy Maple, Holiday e-commerce sales surge 20%

Dangdang Launches Same-Day Delivery In 400 China Cities

Service has equated to speed until now in today’s evolving business structure. If anyone thought same-day delivery was only becoming a household name in the US, they will definitely be surprised by the way its’ thriving elsewhere in the world. Amazon, Wal-Mart and others aren’t the only e-retailers implementing same-day delivery. Slide over and make room for China’s Dangdang.

Dangdang has announced that it has officially launched “Super Speed Delivery” in 400 cities in China. Dangdang has coined the catchy service name “111 super speed delivery” in China that shoppers have become familiar with. The term means that Dangdang orders placed by 11 am, will be delivered within 12 hours, which is its’ version of same-day delivery. Orders placed by 1am, will be delivered within 24 hours. Therefore, Dangdang offers two types of service within its’ 111 super speed delivery.

This is an explosive move for the company, yet it only made sense in comparison to what Dangdang has already built, and building, to support it. The company has 29 warehouse centers and has plans to build 16 more by year’s end. In a recent report from the company’s website via Yahoo.com, Dangdang stated its’ mode of operation can simply be termed as “self-built warehousing plus external logistics cooperation.” Dangdang is focused on cooperation and its’ growth will essentially convert into growth for many logistics express companies.

As some US e-retailers have done, Dangdang is not handling the delivery logistics aspect of super speed delivery by itself. The same day the company announced its’ commitment to servicing 400 China cities, Dangdang stated in the report that it also signed strategic agreements with large logistics corporations in China to improve delivery speed and service. Without its’ own delivery fleet and expertise, no e-retailer with a service this robust can be successful alone. It makes sense to partner with delivery companies to handle the foundational implementation of the service, while Dangdang handles the rest.

Dangdang is after speed and efficiency, which are two ingredients their supply chain needs to make this service sustainable. Centralized storage and value-added services of nationwide unified delivery were also mentioned in the article, as well as the company will allow couriers to enter their warehouses and sort orders. Amazon certainly has some commonalities with Dangdang relative to building warehouse centers in the right places to create the most effective delivery system. Even Google and eBay have partnered with store retailers, which their physical locations essentially act as centralized storages to fulfill customer online orders.

Online retail is an emerging business strategy to increase sales, especially for brick-and-mortar stores seeking to get their product to move. Same-day delivery is meeting the convenience demand of shoppers and Dangdang has made a very aggressive shift in China business with it. One can only imagine where the company’s business will expand into next. The US market probably is attractive to Dangdang and a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express could be a viable option to partner with there. The San Francisco Courier has a national footprint and can implement a delivery logistics solution for Dangdang with super speed also.

Reference: 7.10.14, Yahoo.com, Dangdang Launched "Super Speed Delivery" in 400 Cities of China