Trends Report

Investment Sweet Spot: Same-Day Delivery

Retailers Are Spending Too Much

December 7th, 2023
Fiona Swerdlow, VP, Research Director
Fiona Swerdlow VP, Research Director
Sucharita Kodali, VP, Principal Analyst
Sucharita Kodali VP, Principal Analyst
Jitender Miglani, Principal Forecast Analyst
Jitender Miglani Principal Forecast Analyst
With contributors:
Melissa Parrish , Taylor Hansen

Summary

Retailers have long felt competitive pressure to offer same-day delivery — but for most, this service will never be feasible. Startup costs are stratospheric, as are the ongoing costs to run the service, thereby gobbling up profitability. The real kicker: Most consumers aren’t interested in the service in the first place. Unless retailers are in a high-margin category where it makes sense, most should not even contemplate offering same-day delivery until startup and maintenance costs come down by at least half — and at least 70% of their customers are influenced by this service. Until then, hone your in-store fulfillment processes (and costs) and test working with third-party delivery partners to learn the ropes.

Want to read the full report?

Contact us to become a client

This report is available for individual purchase ($1495).

Forrester helps business and technology leaders use customer obsession to accelerate growth. That means empowering you to put the customer at the center of everything you do: your leadership strategy, and operations. Becoming a customer-obsessed organization requires change — it requires being bold. We give business and technology leaders the confidence to put bold into action, shaping and guiding how to navigate today's unprecedented change in order to succeed.