2022 has been the year of “expect the unexpected”: Instacart’s worth dropped by 75%, Amazon posted a $3.8 billion loss and slashed 18.000 jobs, and online food prices increase by 14%. Events that bring to look at 2023 suspiciously and with strong attention.
At the crossroads of Retail and Logistics, the incoming year seems to require a focus on consolidation first, with companies searching for solid ground on which to operate in financially and ecologically sustainable and safe ways.
By scouting our peers’ opinions and elaborating on Milkman Technologies’ expertise, we have identified 4 snack trends to look carefully at in 2023:
- Big and bulky delivery seems the fastest-growing last-mile segment. According to Armstrong & Associates and the National Home Delivery Association, in the USA alone, the sector will have an annual growth rate of 11.8% through 2025. While non-essential consumer goods may take the back seat as inflation keeps growing and consumers prefer going back to supermarkets in search of better prices, the need for furniture and white goods is expected to grow worldwide at a CAGR of 8.2% until 2030 and consumers are now demanding a post-purchase experience on par with any other smaller luxury goods.
- Logistics data will turn into a competitive advantage for both customer acquisition and retention. As explained by Parcel Perform’s Dana von der Heide: “Implementing end-to-end logistics data to increase Customer Lifetime Value is a guaranteed way of investing in the future of your e-commerce business. It minimizes marketing costs, builds long-term customer relationships, drives end-to-end visibility, and protects your bottom line.” Home deliveries are way past the days of handwritten schedules and single driver’s area knowledge. Algorithmic optimisation and machine learning have opened a treasure box of data about customer preferences, average order distribution, and behavioural analysis. Know-your-customer strategies are now indissolubly tied to: “standardized data sets available to e-commerce businesses, increasing visibility into carrier performance, and opening up new customer engagement channels”.
- Sustainability will be a strategic business priority. Ecological packaging and environmentally friendly deliveries have become must-haves. As related last December on Entrepreneur, Retailers partnering with 3PLs that support their order fulfillment, delivery, and returns, remain in control of their entire logistics operation and can enable better sustainable shipping practices and increased transparency of the order process. Add to this the fact that 90% of Gen Z consumers are inclined to spend an extra 10% on sustainable options, and you have all the clues that this will be a significant topic for 2023.
- B2B Deliveries will look like B2C ones. As stated in Forbes, Retailers often still neglect the B2B user experience on the grounds that customers “will make the purchase anyway.” This is becoming largely unacceptable, especially since supply chain disruptions and raisin costs are already putting a lot of pressure on the receiving end of B2B shipments. Retailers need to know exactly when their goods will arrive, to be stocked and sent down the line to distribution; they need to attain better visibility through cloud-based tools and not by trying to speak with time-consuming and often ill-informed customer services. In practice, there’s no valid reason why the innovation displayed in shopper-facing last-mile solutions couldn’t be mined to bring new value to the first leg of the journey.
The Milkman Last Mile Platform supports businesses managing all these aspects around last-mile by:
- providing visibility and control over the entire order journey
- offering choices with smart and sustainable delivery promises to feed customer expectations
- guaranteeing flawless hyper-automation through the order management system
- sharing a unique experience of transportation and routing optimisation
Discover more by downloading our brochure.
