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The 411 on The Last Mile

With the prevalence of online shopping and shipping, the dilemma of the “last mile” is beginning to heavily influence the overall customer experience. By definition, the last mile is an industry term used to describe the movement of goods from a transportation hub to a final destination in the home. However, this distance can range anywhere from less than a mile up to more than 100 miles.
For retailers, the last mile can be very expensive. Retailers have to get items to their respective recipients within a promised timeline no matter what the address is and this can be costly. In addition, retailers are becoming more aware of the fact that the last mile heavily impacts the customer’s overall experience.
For example, the 2018 Last Mile Retail Study, reports that 49% of customer’s care about delivery time and 44% expect free or low-cost shipping. Also, 65% of consumers want greater flexibility in when and how they receive their online orders. This is because customers want to avoid porch pirates, package theft, missed deliveries and having to reschedule.
With retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart offering two-day shipping, many customers nowadays expect their orders to be rushed without any extra charges and delivered on time. This is why today’s retailers are on a mission to offer the best customer experience while simultaneously reducing delivery and fulfillment costs.
One way retailers are doing so is by leveraging electronic package lockers. These lockers can help retailers reduce any last mile drama.
Parcel Pending’s retail locker solutions, for example, alleviate the commotion of package management for retailers by assuming all customer service responsibilities for package delivery, notification and retrieval. Parcel Pending’s secure, self-service electronic lockers allow consumers to pick up their packages and online orders at a time and place that is convenient for them.
The way Parcel Pending works is simple. When a package arrives, it’s placed into a secure Parcel Pending locker. The recipient is then notified by text and/or email with a passcode to use when retrieving the package(s) privately and safely at any time.
With 69% of consumers stating that they are much less likely to shop with a retailer in the future if an item they purchased is not delivered within two days of the date promised, it is now more important than ever for retailers to consider tapping into parcel lockers to help alleviate any last mile dilemmas.
What trends are you seeing in the last mile? Comment below.

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