Home Delivery is the act of bringing an order to the customer's house rather than the customer going to collect the order or items at the store. In the recent past, home delivery in the country has become popular, especially for call-in orders such as gas refills (propane tanks) and food from various restaurants.
Companies like Amazon in the United States provide the home delivery option only on all orders to the customer's house or a pickup location. Other companies like Walmart have adapted a hybrid model, which offers both traditional walk-in as well as a home delivery option. In Kenya, multiple retailers, including Keffys Mtaani, have adapted a hybrid option, offering walk-in and homedelivery option.
Home delivery has its benefits and limitations:
Benefits
Convenience - With home delivery, the time and location from which a customer places an order does not affect the time the order is delivered to the desired destination. By either placing the order online through an app such as Keffys App or Keffys Shopping Website or by calling the order in, the customer is able to leave clear delivery instructions, including time, delivery address and even the receiver's contact information. With this information, sellers can fulfill the order without the presence of the person that places the order. This dynamic has made it possible for customers to conveniently place orders for family and friends in different locations from theirs. One example is a Kenyan lady living in Boston Massachusetts, who shops for her family once a month through Keffys Biashara Location for delivery to Kahawa Sukari.
Time Saving - While walking in a store to shop requires you to physically go to the store, home deliveries can be a life saver especially when the customer has a tight schedule. The time used to go to the store and pick out items can be saved for other tasks when home delivery is preferred.
Possible Savings - In an effort to promote home delivery and online shopping, most retailers and courier services have multiple discounts on home delivery orders from running from time to time. In some cases, retailers also discount products ordered online and rarely on walk-in orders. In such instances, customers who opt in on home delivery end up spending less than they would have in they walked in. Other companies, especially fast-food restaurants, prioritize home delivery orders in an effort to attract new customers far from the physical location of the restaurant.
Safe Order Delivery - Delivery service providers ensure a safe delivery to reassure customers and gain trust of their service. In incidents where damage of ordered items happen while they are in transit, most delivery service providers replace the damaged items. A home delivery service therefore guarantees arrival of undamaged items as opposed to when the customers themselves collect the items from the store.
Limitations
Can be Expensive - In most cases, home delivery has an associated fee and tax. Most delivery service providers charge customers based on the distance between the point of pickup to the point of delivery. In addition to the distance, delivery service providers put into consideration other factors affecting the delivery such as the weight, time, weather conditions, cost of fuel and labour.
Inaccuracies - due to the nature of technology used in the process of home delivery, it is common for mistakes on either the customer side or delivery service provider side to occur. In some instances, customers input the wrong delivery address, which may lead to the loss of the entire order or delayed delivery before delivery at the correct address.
Most businesses are slowly embracing the option of providing home delivery to stay competitive and attract a new class of customers. Customers are also rapidly utilizing home delivery options due to their heavy benefits. Both businesses and customers seem to benefit more through the provision and consumption of home delivery respectively.