Last-mile delivery trends for FMCG brands in 2021

Food and beverage businesses of all kinds felt a monumental shift last year as people were locked in their homes and patterns of behavior were irreversibly altered. 

Restaurants, grocery stores, and retail brands had to pivot to a direct-to-consumer model just to survive. Ordering meals, groceries, and other items for home delivery has become much more common. 

The global last-mile delivery market is now expected to reach $400 billion by 2030.

As we take stock a year on, FMCG businesses are looking at the trends in consumer behavior as the way forward. So what does the rest of 2021 hold for direct-to-consumer FMCG brands? Let’s take a look at what the insiders, market analysts, and futurists are saying.

6 biggest trends in last-mile FMCG delivery

Consumers expect more from brands

While many people are desperate to get out and live a normal life again. Many are cautious about returning to in-person shopping and habits have certainly shifted towards online ordering and home delivery.

Many shoppers have relished the convenience of home delivery and reaped the benefits of going direct to their favorite brands. Discovering subscription models for products they buy regularly, or new methods of delivery like click & collect and collection lockers.

The desire for faster delivery, better communication, and online ordering is driving the innovation and adoption of better delivery technology. And this looks set to continue as more and more brands take advantage of D2C.

Customers demand convenience, top-notch service, and delivery at the drop of a hat. The question is: can your brand keep up?

Brands big and small are turning to D2C

Many popular brands found themselves in a spot of bother last year, as their customers were unable to leave the house and enjoy their products. 

East London brewery Beavertown was selling almost all of its excellent craft beer – 85% – to pubs and restaurants in kegs. Suddenly, as their biggest customers were forced to close, the hip brewsters had to rethink their strategy. 

The team decided to go all-in on ecommerce and put their efforts into their website. They switched production from kegs to cans and online sales went from £1000 in a good month, to shifting £25,000 worth of product in 24 hours. 

This insane growth shows the huge scaling potential that D2C offers, especially if you have a loyal customer base ready to activate.

With eyes always on the disruptors, the bigger FMCG brands weren’t going to ignore stories like this. CPG giants Heinz and Pepsi are already seeing the changes and going straight to consumers themselves. 

• UnileverNow sells Ben & Jerry’s ice cream directly to consumers using cloud cabinets – small freezer units at regional retailers around the world. With the help of Deliverect managing orders through third-party delivery providers, Unilever was able to ensure the popular ice cream is delivered to consumers at the right temperature no matter the location. 

• Heinz to Home allows can-lovers to get their soup, beans, and ketchup delivered to their door in special bundles or on a subscription basis.

• PepsiCo’s Pantry Shop offers bundles of snacks and drinks for different categories with free delivery and loyalty rewards to entice shoppers to buy direct.

It’s a case of, “If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em”, and brands that are too slow to get on board will lose market share.

Offering same-day delivery through new methods

Same-day delivery has become the standard, especially for those impatient Gen-Zers, with customers willing to pay up to a 30% premium to receive their goods within hours.

Traditionally, FMCG brands looking to sell directly would use an eCommerce site and orders would take a few days to a week to be fulfilled. These days, third-party delivery platforms and delivery fulfillment providers are enabling brands to offer delivery as soon as an order is placed – usually within 30 minutes to an hour.

This is satisfying the consumer trend for more convenience, but it can lead to problems managing orders from multiple delivery platforms and dealing with orders much faster than previously. 

That’s why brands have turned to in-store partners, ghost stores, and smart vending machines, among other emerging models, to get orders out as quickly as possible to a wide delivery area. By dotting mini distribution centers or ghost stores around urban areas, brands are using a hub and spoke model to make deliveries even faster than ever. 

Deliverect connects FMCG brands with these new means of delivery and helps them efficiently manage orders through the delivery partners.

Evolving ordering methods 

Online grocery ordering has come a long way from the clunky supermarket websites of a decade ago. Nowadays, you can order products on slick delivery apps and track your orders in real-time and you can even order via Whatsapp ordering, chatbots, or by talking to an AI synthesized voice at the drive-thru.

What’s more, the changes are coming more and more rapidly as technology continues to advance. The online ordering space could look radically different in just a few years’ time. What if you didn’t have to write a shopping list and order on an app. A smart fridge scans your shelves and automatically reorders your favorite items.

Technology is moving faster than we can write about it! To stay on top of the latest ordering methods, you need a delivery platform that constantly evolves to integrate with the new tech as it emerges.

Social media selling & community building

The new way to sell online includes building a community around your content and aligning your product message to your audience. You can decrease your advertising cost and build strong connections with your audience to foster long-term loyalty.

Social selling is already huge in China, with many brands touting their products over TikTok and other popular networking sites.

Brands like Tesla have built up a cult-like following using personality, live-streamed product launches with dramatic stunts thrown in – remember when they smashed the indestructible truck’s window with a steel ball? With that loyal following built up, they are able to get upfront payments for products that are years from even starting production.

It may take longer, but building a community via social media means you have a direct relationship with your customers that can be leveraged for years to come.

Futureproof your FMCG delivery business with Deliverect

Whatever new ordering tech, customer demands, and delivery methods come along, you need a system that can keep up and integrate it into your operations seamlessly. Deliverect is at the cutting edge of the latest in delivery tech, always creating integrations with the leading players. 

If your brand is serious about staying ahead of the competition, you need to futureproof your delivery business with a robust yet adaptable ordering and delivery management platform.

Take a look at how Deliverect helped FMCG giant Unilever offer products directly to consumers and take control of their customer relationships.