Last updated: March 23, 2021
Could the future of delivery use drones? Robots delivering parcels? When thinking about the future of delivery, it’s easy to think that some of the concepts are far-fetched or straight out of science fiction. For those who are content to stick with the status quo, these “out there” ideas might even be unsettling. Before we look too far ahead, let’s step back and remember the delivery processes that were available a mere few decades ago.
E-commerce brought delivery efficiency, convenience and speed to the forefront of innovation. But, back in the ’90s there was a lack of transit visibility and inconsistent delivery time, spanning around 4-8 weeks. And consumers were okay with that being the norm. Fast forward to today and we’re no longer waiting 4-8 weeks for packages. We’re presented with convenient A-B options at e-checkouts such as next-day delivery, in-store and curbside pick-up. Nowadays, we expect these options, which makes it easier to wrap our heads around the innovations we’re about to discuss. Many of those shipping innovations were brought to the forefront with the global COVID-19 pandemic that struck in 2020, when e-commerce shot to sky-high levels and companies were forced to pivot. Nobody could have predicted that happening, so who knows what the future brings? Only time and technology will tell.
In this report, we discuss the following questions:
- What’s shaping the changes to consumer expectations?
- How are businesses keeping up?
- What’s still to come in the future of delivery?
