Onfleet Survey Reveals Americans Prefer Retailers Who Deliver
As people return to pre-pandemic lifestyles, they still choose the convenience of home delivery. Millennials lead demand for delivery services.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Onfleet, the last mile delivery management software platform that helps businesses streamline their delivery operations, commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct a survey exploring Americans' perceptions, behaviors, and habits around ordering delivery and how this has evolved through the pandemic. Consumers prefer door-to-door delivery and are continuing to take advantage of delivery services, despite the world opening up again.
Retailers and restaurants that don't offer delivery are at a disadvantage
Delivery was a lifesaver for small businesses during the pandemic, and today consumers find the convenience of delivery is influencing which retailers they prefer to shop with. Onfleet's survey of more than 2,000 U.S. Adults 18+ found 61% of Americans prefer shopping at retailers, including restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and/or cannabis dispensaries that offer delivery over businesses that don't. 68% of the cohort, aged 18-34, that captures Gen Z, and 75% of millennial men and women aged 35-44 are more likely to choose retailers that offer online delivery than those aged 55+ (49%) but even 45% of Americans 65+ prefer retailers offering delivery.
"While people are still going to brick and mortar stores, our survey shows that consumers are hopeful stores will provide them with delivery options. This highlights a sea-change in buyer behavior and demands for retail delivery. The widespread appeal of delivery was just nascent a few years ago, but now it's the preferred choice of American consumers," said Khaled Naim, Onfleet's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "If they haven't done this yet, retailers in all industries need to look at their delivery strategy to see how they can expand market share to meet consumer demand."
Households with children embrace delivery
The shifting demands and juggling priorities of a growing family are also driving families to embrace retail delivery, especially in higher-income families. 66% of Americans with household incomes above $100K+ annually prefer shopping at retailers that offer online delivery, compared to 58% of those with household incomes under $100k. Americans with children under 18 at home are significantly more likely to prefer online delivery perhaps given the convenience, expectations of their tech savvy kids, and time-saving opportunities for parents. Overall, 73% of those with children under 18 in the household would rather shop at an online retailer that offers delivery compared to 55% of those without children under 18 in the household.
Broad appreciation for grocery delivery at all ages
Nearly half (48%) of American consumers had groceries delivered during the pandemic and have continued with the habit, and more than half (51%) said online grocery delivery is generally a positive experience. Younger generations tend to have more positive experiences ordering grocery delivery: including 68% of 18-44 year olds, and 53% of 45-54 year olds, 35% of 55-64. But even 28% of those 65+ say getting groceries delivered is generally a positive experience. Most telling, 69% of those with kids under 18 in the household reported they had a positive experience ordering groceries online with home delivery.
"The pandemic dramatically increased how much American consumers spend online, and shifted how they do their grocery shopping, in what may be a permanent shift. Ordering online groceries rather than heading to the market in-person was a literal life saver for many during lock-downs. Now, as life gets busier again, our research is showing that people continue to enjoy and appreciate in-home delivery," Naim said.
People will pay more to go GREEN
Consumers today care about sustainability, and this even holds true when purchasing from a local merchant. The survey found that nearly half of Americans (46%) would be willing to pay higher delivery fees for online purchases if a company has initiatives to offset their carbon footprint.
60% of Millennials aged 35-44 are willing to pay more to support carbon offset programs, and 54% of Millennial/Gen Z consumers aged 18-34 are willing to do so. Looking beyond this age group we saw 49% of 45-54 year olds, and 32% of those aged 55 or older are willing to pay more to support carbon offsets.
"Even with a challenging economy, the long-term fate of the planet is important to American consumers. Companies that don't meet this demand can quickly fall behind their competitors in the minds of consumers, especially among young Americans. Despite high inflation, nearly half of those surveyed would be willing to pay higher delivery fees on online purchases from a company if they had programs to offset their carbon footprint," Naim said.
How Americans live and shop changed dramatically with the COVID pandemic. Today we're seeing that the convenience, reliability and flexibility of home grocery delivery is driving consumer adoption and purchasing decisions. At the same time, Americans are focused on sustainability and are willing to support environmental programs with their purchasing dollars.
At Onfleet, we recognize the opportunity, but also the costs and complexities of "last mile" delivery. With a complete suite of features from routing to carbon offsets to real-time SMS notifications, Onfleet's technology helps efficiently connect businesses, dispatchers, drivers, and deliveries to happy customers. Thousands of American companies, including Kroger, Total Wine & More, EQ3, Zumiez, and United Supermarkets have already switched to Onfleet to power their deliveries and keep their customers happy.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Onfleet from July 28 - August 1, 2022 among 2,055 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].
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About Onfleet
Onfleet is a San Francisco-based technology company that helps businesses streamline their delivery operations. Onfleet's software powers millions of deliveries per week for thousands of businesses around the world. Onfleet's platform includes a web-based dispatch dashboard, intuitive drive apps on iOS and Android, real-time tracking and notifications for customers, and a robust API. Onfleet helps businesses route and dispatch efficiently, collect proof of delivery, access comprehensive last-mile analytics, and provide a branded, delightful customer experience. To learn more, please visit http://www.onfleet.com.
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Media Contact
Gillian Roberts, Onfleet, +1 8183952948, [email protected]
SOURCE Onfleet
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