Australians are leading increasingly busy lives – research has found that 41 per cent feel rushed or pressed for time. Retailers are responding by expanding their e-commerce trade and improving the customer experience online.

Consumers are responding by taking more of their shopping on the internet. At the same time, their expectations for faster deliveries are also increasing – and missing a delivery is one of the most disliked inconveniences for customers.

A recent survey of Aussie shoppers by leading parcel delivery service CouriersPlease (CP) found that the majority of Aussies want retailers to offer flexible delivery times. Specifically, 80 per cent of those surveyed would like after-hours and weekend parcel delivery, and 73 per cent would like three-hour and same-day delivery.

CP is helping retailers solve this problem with services that enable them to offer their customers options to collect their deliveries at a time that works for them.

CP provides its top 5 solutions to flexible deliveries, so your customers will always receive their packages when it suits them.

• Take advantage of CP’s POPPoints. For customers who are not home to collect deliveries, CP offers a network of POPPoints comprising of POPStations and POPShops, to which parcels can be redirected by shoppers. With more than 1700 locations throughout Australia, POPPoints, in partnership with HUBBED, are optimised by route and order density, so customers only need to travel a short distance from home to pick up a missed delivery.POPStations are an innovative last-mile parcel delivery solution that allows shoppers to pick up their parcels in a secure and hassle-free locker, which are often placed in shopping centres. POPShops are in convenient retail outlets such as service stations and newsagents. Both solutions are free for consumers and are available seven days a week or extended weekday hours.
• Provide authority to leave a parcel. Shoppers can authorise CP couriers to leave their delivery in a safe place on their property if no one is home to sign for it. This option is only applicable when the front of the home is not in view of passers-by, when the home is protected from weather or pets, and apartment buildings that have access to an internal common area.
• Deliver to a neighbour. CP allows shoppers to redirect their delivery to neighbour, up to one business day before the original delivery date. They can nominate a neighbour within three houses in either direction of the original delivery address. Shoppers will never have to go out of their way to collect a missed delivery again.
• Reschedule to another date. CP will deliver at the customer’s convenience. If a customer knows they won’t be home to accept their delivery, they can easily have it delivered at another day and time. Within three days of receiving a delivery notification, whether it be through CP’s email or text alerts, customers have the option to reschedule the delivery to a day that best suits them.
• Deliver to a different address. Apart from changing the date and time of delivery, customers can change the address of where they want the parcel delivered. Given that the different address is within the same metro area, shoppers can conveniently receive their parcel at an alternative address, such as their office. Alternatively, customers can always redirect their parcel to a POPPoint.

Get in touch with CouriersPlease to see how we can assist with your last-mile deliveries.