Customers love speed, so same-day delivery is the scalpel. But it’s not the strategy. You use it where it pays for itself, and monitor where it quietly eats your margin.
Precision beats speed when it comes to big and bulky items. You would much rather have that couch delivered, assembled, and not damaged than have it delivered the next day during a horrible delivery experience.
Here’s the thing: A two-hour window tomorrow feels better than a wild “maybe today.”
Quick Test: Is Same-Day Delivery Worth It For Your Business?
Ask yourself these easy questions, and if you answer yes to at least three, same-day is probably not worth it.
1. Why Do People Buy From Your Business?
- Is speed the reason people buy from your business?
- Are customers willing to wait for the product, or is there a sense of urgency?
- These are usually bulky delivery items.
2. What Is The Density Of Your Delivery Map?
Can you get enough orders per hour in the zone to keep routes productive? Its high density makes things cost-effective. Delivering in metro areas is so much cheaper than doing rural deliveries.
3. Is Your Operational Team Ready For Fast Delivery?
- Can your team increase output by reliably speeding up pick, pack, and handoff?
- Can they keep up with tight cut-off times?
4. Can Same-Day Be A Bad Idea?
Will same-day bring you new sales? Watch out for the blind spot. If it’s just going to shift profitable next-day orders into a low-margin bucket, it’s not worth implementing same-day delivery.
If you are still unsure whether giving customers same-day would be a good move, run a tiny pilot.
Start with two neighborhoods, six weeks, and clear rules for delivering on the same day.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of same-day delivery. Where it works, and where it doesn’t work.
Where Fast Delivery Works
- Urgent, small items. These would be your beauty products, medical supplies, and auto parts.
- Dense urban zones. These are short trips for drivers and there are enough orders to make it worth it.
- Membership plan. When customers pay a premium price for fast delivery, it can subsidize the speed.
Where Same-Day Delivery Is Risky And Fails
Big and bulky items can require more crew, limit access, and pose a damage risk, which could cause chaos for the brand.
Low-margin baskets can also be seen as risky for profit. There is no room to pay couriers fairly.
Broad geographies fail, as it takes up too much time.
If You Do Try Same-Day, Try It Like This
Step one: Limit your delivery offering
Keep it in small zones, and keep the delivery windows tight to get more density.
Step two: Price products smartly
Concentrate on the cheapest windows, meaning peak times create denser routes.
Step three: Protect next-day delivery
Don’t discount same-day delivery so heavily that it reduces your good margins. Next-day is still essential.
Step four: Monitor and keep track of delivery progress
Create a logbook to check how many orders you deliver per hour, whether your on-time rate is still high, and how many sales you make per order.
How To Handle Big-And-Bulky Deliveries
Promise precision and preference. The key to solving failed deliveries and making them more efficient is to allow customers to choose when they want the item delivered.
This is best at the check-out point. Delivery companies can have their customers change the time window in case customers’ plans change.
Communicate like Uber by sending live ETAs and options for rescheduling. Communication is key to delivering big and bulky items efficiently.
Start Here: Run A Tiny Pilot Delivery Plan
Copy and paste this plan if you like, because this will help you to know for sure if same-day delivery works for you.
Here’s the short of it:
- Choose two high-density areas and turn on same-day
- Set a timeframe: 6 weeks
- If the contribution per order is negative for two consecutive weeks, stop.
- Success equals higher conversion at checkout.
The bottom line is that same-day delivery can be a differentiator. The experience should still be reliable and predictable. That’s when you win reviews and repeat business.
NOW READ: Same day delivery: How companies make it happen
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
