Two new surveys demonstrated the growing expectation from millennials for same-day shipping, while relatively few retailers are offering it.
A survey from fraud prevention firm Trustev found 56% of consumers aged 18-34 expect a same-day shipping option. A similar survey by Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates found 64% of the millennial demographic were more likely to make an online purchase if same-day delivery was in the mix.
Of the 50 top retailers Trustev’s researched, it identified only two – Amazon and 1-800-Flowers – that offered it as part of the standard checkout process. However, this was limited to companies providing the option in Manhattan’s 10001 ZIP code, where Trustev has its U.S. office.
Still, the list of companies offering same-day delivery is a relatively short but growing one, and in each case servicing a handful of markets. It includes Macy’s, Williams Sonoma, Walmart, Target, Ulta Beauty, Costco, Staples, Ace Hardware, Neiman Marcus and Kohl’s, which is just starting same-day pilots in Chicago and San Francisco.
Rurik Bradbury, CMO of Trustev, said the company sought to capture a snapshot of the expectations of younger consumers.
“They’re mostly digital natives, and the younger half grew up knowing nothing but online apps,” Bradbury said. “So we can see how their worldview has shaped those expectations. At this point we’ve had ecommerce for more than 20 years, but now there are a bunch of same-day delivery providers like Deliv and Postmates, built with this group’s real-time demands in mind.”
In other areas, the Trustev study found nearly all millennials – 94% – expect real-time order updates, while 93% want to be able to cancel an order any time before shipping.
Bradbury said in conversations with more than 100 retailers, they have expressed concern over the potential for fraud with the quick turnaround times required for same-day delivery – thus its interest in conducting the survey.
“A lot of famous brands, including a large higher-end clothing retailer, have told us they dread the push from executive management to do same day because it’s not possible with their current process,” he said. “The average retailer reviews 10% of its transactions, so to turn these orders around (while mitigating fraud) and not missing the one-day cutoff isn’t possible with current systems.”
According to a recent LexisNexis study, large ecommerce merchants saw an increase in fraud from .85% of revenue in 2014 to 1.39% this year, while finding that every $100 in online fraud cost a merchant $233 on average.
Ecommerce fraud is expected to rise here with the implementation of EMV chip-and-PIN standards, set to take effect next week, as more of it migrates away from point-of-sale transactions. In the United Kingdom, ecommerce fraud rose 79% in the first three years after EMV, while more than doubling in Australia and Canada, according to Aite Group.