Unlocking E-commerce Last-Mile Profitability: Strategies for Retailers

Understanding e-commerce last-mile delivery and why it matters

Last-mile delivery, the final step in delivering packages to your customer’s doorstep, is becoming increasingly crucial in the world of e commerce. In fact, studies show that 75% of customers are willing to pay more for a superior last-mile experience and remain loyal to brands that provide it. 

It’s no secret that e commerce growth has led to changing customer expectations. How can you keep up with these evolving demands? Focus on the last mile. Start by making shipping costs obvious at checkout and ensuring your shipping and returns policies are clear. This will improve the customer experience. More importantly, partner with a provider with expertise in logistics solutions for e-commerce and the capabilities to offer fast and reliable deliveries to your customers. By partnering with a provider who specializes in e-commerce last-mile logistics, businesses can simplify their operations, offer fast and reliable deliveries and ultimately enhance their e-commerce growth.

E-commerce last-mile logistics challenges and the strategies to overcome them

Last-mile logistics is where businesses can win or lose customer satisfaction. The biggest last-mile challenges for businesses of all sizes are speed, flexibility, affordability and sustainability. However, with the right strategy and a capable e commerce delivery partner, your business can win customers and manage this crucial logistics stage.

Challenge #1: Speed

How long does last-mile delivery take? The biggest e commerce retailers have made a business out of fast delivery. It’s one of the primary factors that keeps 57% of consumers who regularly buy from one e-commerce giant buying more every week. It’s also responsible for the 9% of those consumers who buy something on a daily basis.

If your business isn’t one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses, you can still gain and retain more customers with fast shipping. Purolator Express® has you covered with next-day delivery services. Purolator is a leading integrated freight, package and logistics solutions provider.

We offer guaranteed, next-day delivery across Canada, detailed package tracking and express cross-border options. More importantly, Purolator offers the largest selection of guaranteed, time-definite express shipping options. Additionally, Purolator maintains its leadership position in Canada’s domestic premium parcel market with 25% share.

Challenge #2: Coverage

Selling and shipping to new markets is an effective way to grow your business. However, when it comes to network coverage, not all shipping providers are created equal. Purolator leverages expansive international networks, and a network that reaches 100% of Canadian postal codes, to help businesses ship to as many customers as possible. With these networks, you can tap into new markets and start shipping parcels to both city centres and remote areas. 

Challenge #3: Flexibility

Consumers also want flexibility in the form of delivery times, express deliveries and dispatch locations. In fact, Retail Week found that although 70% of consumers want more flexible delivery options, only 4% of e commerce businesses offer those options after a customer places their order. There’s a lot of room for businesses that aim to serve these unmet demands.

What do customers expect in terms of last-mile delivery tracking? Purolator Your Way™ has the answers. This service allows customers to personalize their delivery options so they can choose convenient delivery windows and give us specific instructions on where to leave packages outside of the home. They’ll also receive detailed package tracking updates via SMS. This type of detailed shipping flexibility after they’ve placed an order is what customers are really looking for. 

Reap the benefits of later drop-off times and over 2,900 retail locations, agents and Mobile Quick Stop locations across the country when shipping with Purolator!

These options include a range of convenient parcel locker delivery and parcel delivery solution options.

Challenge #4: Affordability

Customers want free and affordable shipping options. This proves challenging for businesses since shipping can be a significant expense. However, 22% of U.S. online shoppers are interested in picking up their online orders from a nearby location.

Purolator’s shipping locations and access points are perfect for these customers. These solutions offer affordable options for you and your customers as well as convenient ways to return items if needed.

Purolator has the largest number of operational terminals in Canada. Here are a few of the convenient pickup and drop-off options you and your customers can choose from:

Challenge #5: Sustainability

Businesses across industries must incorporate sustainability into their last-mile logistics. Transportation and shipping create a significant portion of every company’s carbon emissions.

You can use more eco-friendly packaging materials and partner with a logistics provider, like Purolator, that practices route optimization.

Purolator has e-bike delivery options to decrease emissions and encourage businesses and consumers to pick up and drop off packages within their local area. Additionally, our Urban Quick Stops offer a sustainable solution, allowing you and your customers to drop off or pick up packages at eco-friendly mini hubs in urban centres. Each hub has sustainable e-bike delivery services to help reduce CO2 emissions.

Purolator’s National Hub is another environmentally friendly resource that reduces emissions while increasing efficiency. Through the hub, we’ve tripled our shipping capacity sustainably. The building uses energy-efficient lighting, battery-powered machinery and a greywater system to maximize sustainability. By making warehouse operations more efficient and eco-friendly, the National Hub has a significant positive impact on our customers’ last-mile delivery.

Purolator is also committed to sustainability, so we also optimize routes with our strategic location in the Greater Toronto Area, with access to multiple major highways.

In our 2022 sustainability report, you’ll find more details on how Purolator supports the planet, workers and communities. From reducing waste by 670 metric tonnes in 2022 alone to reducing total emissions per package by 5%, we’re proud to help businesses grow in ways that also help the environment.

Adopting B2C approaches for improved e-commerce delivery

What is business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) in e-commerce? More importantly, what B2C practices can you use to fuel your B2B e-commerce website and increase sales?

In both B2B and B2C e-commerce, the expectations around delivery speed and efficiency are converging. B2C practices, known for prioritizing customer experience through swift and transparent delivery services, are increasingly being adopted in the B2B sector to enhance customer satisfaction and drive sales.

Implementing B2C-inspired strategies can significantly elevate the B2B e-commerce experience, fostering customer loyalty. Also remember to keep the top challenges—speed, flexibility, affordability and sustainability—in mind.

Here are three foundational strategies for better last-mile e-commerce logistics solutions:

• Remember that visibility is key. Ensure your customers can track shipments, use flexible delivery options and receive notifications for delivery milestones.
• Leverage technology to remain competitive as the last-mile logistics world evolves. Pay close attention to technology that improves package tracking and inventory management. Delivery management, increased visibility and GPS tracking software can give businesses a huge competitive advantage.
• Partner with an experienced last-mile delivery provider. Purolator can relieve your team of the burden of last-mile logistics planning with express shipping, next-day delivery and a range of customizable delivery options and tools, including:
  • Purolator Your Way™: Customers get total visibility of the shipment journey, SMS notifications during transit and customizable preferences for package delivery. They can also customize delivery windows and remove signature release requirements for eligible items.
  • E-commerce Shipping Solutions: These solutions include package tracking for customers, label creation for shipments and returns, pickup scheduling and accurate shipping estimates.
  • An expansive Canadian network: Purolator services 100% of Canadian postal codes, and we use up to 97% of our own assets to get your business across Canada. Our solutions reduce unnecessary hand-offs to increase last-mile efficiency.

How market leaders are winning the last mile

Last-mile delivery has become its own competitive industry. As a result, many notable companies use innovative strategies to optimize their last-mile delivery while keeping shipping costs affordable for customers.

An effective strategy is backed by in-depth knowledge of the industry, customer expectations and how they are changing. Another critical part of your last-mile e-commerce logistics solution is partnering with the right delivery provider.

How has last-mile delivery changed?

Learn the essentials of winning the last mile with the right delivery partner. See how

E-commerce leaders use subscriptions and strategically located last-mile order fulfillment centres

One leading e-commerce retailer previously faced significant last-mile logistics challenges, including poor route planning, lack of tracking visibility and high delivery costs. They strategically incorporated technology into their last-mile delivery process through:

• • 1. Tracking on their mobile app and website
    2. Algorithms to help optimize routes by factoring in traffic, package sizes and more
    3. Automation including drones and delivery robots to speed up deliveries

Additionally, with their own express delivery subscription service, they are able to provide same-day and next-day delivery on countless items.

Speedy delivery is easier since this e-commerce giant has an expansive network of fulfillment centres, each strategically located near a major urban area. By using advanced logistics and fulfilling orders through these centres, the company is able to optimize delivery routes. In the end, this business saved money, increased efficiency, boosted customer satisfaction and garnered more customers. Today, they’ve significantly increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

A leading retailer uses physical stores as fulfillment centres

Another notable example is a longstanding brick-and-mortar retailer that sells everything from clothing to electronics to groceries. This company uses its own massive network of brick-and-mortar stores as local distribution centres. They also hire delivery drivers on a contract basis, but are looking into hiring more of their own employees instead.

On the customer side, they provide faster last-mile delivery, including same-day delivery and same-day pick up. On the business side, they reap the benefits of reduced last-mile logistics time and costs.

This company also hasn’t forgotten about sustainability. They’re on a path to net-zero by 2040 and became the first major Canadian retailer to provide zero-emissions last-mile delivery in 2022.

A popular e-commerce platform helps small and medium-sized businesses with fulfillment

One leading e-commerce platform with their own fulfillment network helps small and medium-sized businesses with last-mile delivery. This service provides access to distributed fulfillment service centres, allowing merchants to store inventory closer to their customers.

The result is reduced shipping times and costs, enabling smaller players to compete more effectively in the e-commerce landscape.

These companies exemplify how adopting a customer-centric e-commerce strategy, coupled with smart use of technology and infrastructure, can transform last-mile delivery from a challenge into a competitive advantage.

What this means for your e-commerce strategy

These market-dominating businesses use technology, logistics network optimization and their own delivery services to keep customers satisfied and garner customer loyalty.

Implementing similar strategies can help your business do the same. However, new e-commerce insights show that experts are worried that this type of growth may not be sustainable in the future.

Additionally, starting a major fulfillment network or building multiple hubs is not feasible for every business. Therefore, many smaller businesses need to work with outside e commerce fulfillment companies that employ strategies and technologies like:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) software for better customer service and more efficient routes
• Smaller delivery fleets that use eco-friendly vehicles
• Strategically located shipping centres with easy access to major metropolitan areas

There’s no need to build your own expansive network of fulfillment and distribution centres. Instead, you can reap these same benefits by working with a logistics partner that has these resources. A partnership with Purolator will also give you access to express cross-border shipping, a strategically located and sustainable distribution hub, route optimization and much more.

The last mile is often the most expensive and critical part of logistics. Here’s an expert take on improving your last-mile delivery. Learn more

Considerations for small and medium businesses

These strategies sound straightforward enough. However, small and medium-sized enterprises often find themselves at a crossroads, battling high delivery costs and the need for competitive differentiation in last-mile logistics. They also need to focus on consistently providing exceptional customer experience.

To navigate these waters, small and medium-sized businesses must embrace flexibility, leverage technology for improved visibility and efficiency and explore localized delivery networks to structure cost-effective last-mile solutions. Here’s how small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of these opportunities:

• • Start small. Focus on your local network first. For example, you can partner with other businesses in your area for joint delivery services through an experienced courier company. This approach gives your last mile more structure without prohibitively expensive delivery.
  • Partner with a delivery service like Purolator. A strategic partnership will address major last-mile challenges head-on and position your businesses to scale up e-commerce operations seamlessly. For example, Purolator covers 100% of Canadian postal codes, helping you grow your business and reach customers in urban, suburban and remote areas. This strong partnership can also help you win over customers with your last-mile delivery.
  • Establish an e-commerce website and app. These digital elements are an important part of your company’s success. They can give you more control well before the last-mile stage and improve your brand image. Additionally, an e-commerce presence helps your business meet customers’ changing wants and needs while remaining competitive.

Sign up with Purolator for increased visibility and access to Canada’s largest courier network. Learn more

What to consider for your e-commerce website and mobile app

Having a digital presence ensures businesses stay attuned to their customers’ evolving needs, offering a seamless shopping experience from browsing to doorstep delivery. Through innovative e-commerce insights and strategies, businesses can harness the full potential of last-mile delivery to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and unlock new avenues for growth and profitability.

Here are some essentials for creating and maintaining your e-commerce website to drive sales and let customers know they can trust your last-mile capabilities:

General e-commerce essentials	Website and mobile app essentials
Prime your business to increase e-commerce sales by covering these essentials:	To optimize sales, websites and mobile apps should:
Focus on last-mile logistics. Partner with an expert provider to get shipments from your warehouse to your customers efficiently. Ensure they are reliable, experienced and provide expedited options.	Articulate a clear shipping policy including a custom quoting tool, consolidated shipping options, reverse logistics policies and more.
Create a user-friendly, mobile- responsive, comprehensive and content-rich website that provides everything customers need to make their next purchase	Include an about us section, testimonials, FAQs and case studies or reviews to tell your brand story, show your commitment to efficiency and highlight the quality of your products.
Base your website and online services on a concrete digital strategy to ensure your e-commerce efforts foster sales, improve brand image and increase brand awareness.	Keep everything customer-focused and produce content that adds value to every customer’s visit, addresses their pain points and shows your products providing real-world solutions.

E-commerce retailers in particular can benefit from offering free domestic shipping. However, B2B companies can also benefit since B2C practices increasingly influence B2B customers’ expectations.

Free shipping engages potential customers. Did you know that 47% of U.S. customers abandon online carts because they feel the fees including shipping and taxes are too high?

Even offering free shipping as a temporary promotion increases sales for B2C brands. For example, Teemill (a sustainable t-shirt company) saw a 20% increase in website traffic and a 24% increase in sales on weekends when they offered free shipping. B2B companies can try a similar, limited-time approach to test out free shipping.

However, free shipping needs a strategic approach. For B2B companies, the costs need to be recouped elsewhere by charging more for products or requiring an order minimum. Partnering with a logistics provider that offers fulfillment solutions for online retailers is an excellent way to develop your strategy while still meeting customers’ demands.

Learn how to develop a winning e-commerce logistics strategy. Read the article

Boost brand loyalty with Purolator’s e-commerce fulfillment services

From sustainability to personalization, consumer expectations are changing. The right e-commerce fulfillment partner will help you fulfill those expectations by providing flexible and affordable options that suit your business’ and your customers’ needs. Purolator has the services and expertise to help your e-commerce business with the last mile.

Sustainable solutions

Shipping and transportation have significant environmental impacts, but companies can reduce emissions with sustainable shipping practices. Eco-friendly shipping can make a company’s supply chain more sustainable overall, while meeting customers’ increasing demand for more eco-conscious practices.

Purolator offers sustainable shipping solutions, including ground shipping and consolidated shipments. Ground shipping creates an affordable greener last mile, decreasing your carbon footprint without sacrificing shipping speed. Purolator is the only delivery company to offer domestic early morning ground shipping, delivered by 9AM. You can also pick up and drop off packages from parcel lockers, Quick Stop Kiosks, Mobile Quick Stops and over 2,900 Purolator access points.

We also use electric delivery ebikes and trucks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24 metric tons per year (per vehicle). In fact, Purolator is the first Canadian courier to launch fully electric delivery vehicles.

Consolidating orders is another effective way to reduce your environmental impact. Try our less-than truckload (LTL) shipping to send your packages with other shippers’ products that are on the way to the same place. This makes your last mile greener and more affordable since you’ll only pay for the portion of the truckload that you use.

Shipping to Canada (from the rest of the world)

Overseas shipping to Canada helps businesses unlock new opportunities. With Purolator, you can easily expand into Canada as we deliver to 100% of Canadian postal codes, allowing your business to reach new customers and explore more advantageous sourcing strategies.

U.S.-based businesses in particular can nearshore and ship from Mexico to Canada, cutting costs, improving their supply chain and boosting sustainability.

UK businesses can also ship seamlessly to Canada in as little as three days. Shipping speed depends on your provider as well as your chosen shipping service. Purolator provides express and priority options for shipping from the UK to Canada.

Special handling

Purolator has specialized shipping solutions (including dangerous goods and Mission Critical) and over 2,900 shipping access points to help your business increase shipping efficiency and cover an expansive network. Purolator offers all of these capabilities.

Reverse logistics

Returns are an unavoidable part of doing business. Your e-commerce fulfillment partner should have the expertise and resources to facilitate smooth returns for your business and your customers. They should make reverse logistics fast, flexible and sustainable, using technology to create a seamless process that allows for quick restocking and reselling. Purolator, for example, has over 2,900 locations across Canada, to make returns easier for your customers.

Take your last-mile logistics to the next level and boost customer convenience with a strong reverse logistics strategy. Learn more

Service	24/7 customer support	Guaranteed next-day or overnight shipping*	Delivers to 100% of Canadian postal codes	Dangerous goods and overweight compatible	Can be combined with other solutions	Canadian coverage	U.S. coverage	International coverage
Mission Critical	✔️				✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Express and Ground		✔️			✔️
Reverse Logistics Solutions					✔️	✔️
Freight		✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Logistics Planning for Special Requests		✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Rest of the World Shipping				✔️	✔️		✔️	✔️
* Certain terms, conditions and geographic restrictions apply (including point of origin and destination guarantee restrictions and money-back guarantee restrictions). In most cases, end of day means 9PM. Purolator Express® 9AM, Purolator Express® 10:30AM, Purolator Express® 12PM, Purolator Express® Evening are only available when a shipment is prepared using an automated shipping system. See Purolator Terms and Conditions of Service for details.

See Purolator’s last-mile logistics in action

Clearly began their e-commerce journey in 2000. Over the years they saw e-commerce growth and expanded from selling contact lenses online to selling prescription glasses as well. Last-mile delivery was their biggest hurdle as they worked to scale up e-commerce business. The trouble was that once an order was shipped off, keeping individual customers satisfied seemed to be out of Clearly’s control.

Clearly partnered with Purolator because of our customer-centric ethos. After getting a better understanding of their challenges and objectives, we provided weekend and evening deliveries to significantly expand their business. Now, “customer satisfaction has gone absolutely through the roof,” says Clearly CEO, Arnaud Bussieres.

This solid partnership demonstrates how developing your e-commerce growth strategy through last-mile delivery benefits your brand image and business overall.

Purolator helped Clearly successfully deliver over 50,000 orders on evenings and weekends. Ready to deliver more convenience to your customers? Learn more

Purolator provides these essential e-commerce shipping features to improve your last-mile delivery:

Purolator e-Commerce Shipping Features
Accurate shipping estimates	Understand the estimated cost of shipping your items across borders and depending on the size of each package. Learn more
Shipment label creation	Create shipping labels in minutes and reduce errors. We’ll walk you through how to prepare the label step by step. Learn more
Purolator Your Way	Bring freedom and flexibility to your customers’ doorsteps with every parcel delivery. Purolator Your Way includes customizable delivery preferences, SMS tracking notifications and clear next steps for missed deliveries. Learn more
Adult signature required	Adult signature required helps ensure the safe delivery of shipments containing alcohol, cannabis, certain types of pharmaceuticals or other dangerous goods regulated items. Learn more
Signature release	Allows customers to waive signature requirements so eligible packages can be left in at the delivery point if they are unavailable at the time of delivery. Learn more
Return label creation	Return label creation keeps reverse logistics sustainable for you and simple for your customers. Learn more
Pickup scheduling	Pickup scheduling increases convenience for customers and decreases the likelihood of missed deliveries. Learn more

Use our fulfillment solutions for online retailers to bring fast and reliable deliveries to your customers. Learn more

How to stay ahead of e-commerce last-mile trends

As the last-mile delivery industry continues to rapidly evolve, it’s important to keep up with trends and changing customer expectations. Here’s what you can do to stay ahead of the competition and avoid overwhelm:

Collect and analyze data and feedback

Look at customer data and feedback to find areas for improvement. You can even send surveys or incentivize reviews to get a better idea of what customers are happy with and what aspects of your last-mile logistics are falling short.

Set specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and review them periodically

Average delivery time is one of the most important KPIs to track because it allows you to pinpoint inefficiencies and it’s tied to customer satisfaction. Other key metrics include cost, customer satisfaction and delivery time variance or the ratio of on-time deliveries to total deliveries during a specific period.

Partner with an expert e-commerce logistics provider

Partnering with Purolator takes the stress out of last-mile logistics. We’re committed to equipping your business with last-mile options such as parcel lockers, kiosks and drop boxes in dense urban areas to provide your customers with best experience with ease, as well as efficient sustainable and return solutions.

Leverage smart technology

The latest technology isn’t always accessible. Working with Purolator gives you affordable access to route optimization, eco-friendly vehicles and sustainable shipping and drop-off centres.

Embrace the future of e-commerce last-mile delivery

Choosing Purolator as your logistics partner will empower your business to successfully navigate the future of e-commerce last-mile delivery.

We will give your business the support needed to enhance customer satisfaction through superior last-mile services. Here’s how:

• Our range of pickup and drop-off points makes deliveries and returns more convenient and encourages customers to keep buying from your business.
• Purolator Your Way gives your customers options to personalize each parcel delivery for a consistently exceptional customer experience.
• From next-day delivery to Saturday pick ups and drop offs, Purolator works with your schedule.
• Partnering with Purolator will help alleviate your concerns about navigating technology driven sustainability and customer satisfaction initiatives alone.
• We will continually collaborate with your business to provide customized shipping options as you grow and as the market changes.

A strategic partnership is crucial for helping your e-commerce business thrive in a changing landscape that champions efficiency and the customer experience. We’re here to support your success.

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