Dive Brief:
- As a result of UPS' new peak season fees, retailers have begun offering delayed shipping to buyers willing to wait a little longer to receive their orders, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- While some retailers feel the added surcharge by UPS penalizes small and medium sized businesses attempting to keep pace with Amazon and other e-commerce heavy hitters, UPS says it levied the surcharge as a means of spacing out deliveries during the seasonal onslaught.
- Macy's customers and others have approved the option; logistics and e-commerce company Radial said it had no takers. Radial represents both Dick's Sporting Goods and Aeropostale.
Dive Insight:
Patience is a rarity in today's e-commerce shoppers.
Consumers have long been indicating their desire for faster delivery. From the recent expansion of same-day retail courier Deliv to 33 markets and 1,400 cities to a rash of investment in new last-mile, same day services, online shoppers want speed. Industry experts agree, observing that "today’s shoppers demand faster delivery speeds."
Therefore, the likelihood of popular acceptance of slow delivery options isn't high. And while UPS hopes to better manage its flow with temporarily higher fees, opening the door for the USPS and FedEx to pick up the possible slack, the reality is that shoppers are likely to simply pay the higher fees to get what they want when they want it. Capitalizing on demand during peak season may seem mercenary to some, but if people will fund their own demands, it's hard to find fault with a company that caters to that demand.
