Exclusive: IGD – Unattended In-Home Delivery Could Soon Be the Norm

IGD

The ‘last mile’ has become an increasingly competitive place, as the food industry and disruptors continue to create solutions that make online shopping even more convenient, which is a big appeal to shoppers. With retailers making significant investments in this area globally, IGD’s Head of Innovations and Futures Toby Pickard rounds up the latest innovations helping online shoppers embrace this convenience.

Increase in unattended in-home delivery

During 2018, we saw numerous leading global retailers trialing unattended in-home delivery services.The customer grants access to a delivery driver using smart lock technology, by setting a temporary access code for the lock, which is then sent to the delivery driver via a secure app.

Refrigerated and frozen goods are put away by the delivery driver, and other groceries as instructed by the customer. Edeka, Waitrose & Partners and Albert Heijn all joined Walmart, Amazon, Jet.com and ICA with trials in their respective markets.

There is a significant amount of trust required on the behalf of the shopper to sign up to such trials. However, if the service delivers and meets shopper expectations it is hard to see a more convenient and easy way to shop online.

There are also benefits for retailers. For example, they can optimize delivery routes to save time and fuel costs, as they will not be delivering based on predetermined hourly delivery slots. It also enables better use of delivery vehicle capacity.

The complete article will be available in our next July/August 2019 issue of Frozen Food Europe print magazine.