Streamlining Same-Day Delivery with Smart Lockers

In our convenience-driven society, the secret to winning customers’ hearts and wallets is same-day delivery. Despite higher logistics costs, shoppers overwhelmingly favor home delivery, choosing it 166% more frequently than in-store pickup.¹ This shift has redefined “fast delivery,” with 86% of consumers expecting their orders within two days.²

Customers aren’t just demanding speed – they’re willing to pay for it. A significant 41% would pay extra for same-day delivery, and nearly a quarter would pay more to receive their purchases within three hours.³ The demand for groceries, for instance is robust; 37% of online shoppers expect same-day fulfillment.⁴

These trends signal a clear message to retailers: rapid delivery isn’t just a luxury service; it’s essential for capturing and retaining customer loyalty in today’s competitive marketplace.

Retailers Adopting and Adapting Faster Delivery Methods

Amazon cracked the code for loyalty and profitably with its lightning-fast delivery options. Almost since its inception, Amazon’s Prime membership has included two-day delivery. However, in 2019, next-day delivery was introduced, and the need for speed was on. “Customers love fast delivery, and the faster we deliver, the more often customers come back,” said Sarah Mathew, Vice President for Delivery Experience at Amazon.⁵

To remain competitive, other retailers have adopted similar strategies:

• Walmart now offers same-day delivery to 86% of all American households, fulfilling orders from its 4,600 stores nationwide.⁶ In 2024, Walmart store sales were up nearly 50% from a year earlier and accounted for $2 billion per month in sales in the previous 12 consecutive months.⁷
• Target also started competing for quick delivery customers when it purchased Shipt in 2017. In 2024, the New York Times reported that average shipping times for all Target orders are nearly a day faster than a year ago.⁸
• Home improvement retailer Lowe’s recently added nationwide same-day delivery service in partnership with omnichannel fulfillment provider OneRail.⁹ The partnership allows in-stock items at local stores to be delivered to homes and job sites in the same day if ordered by 2 PM. Rival retailer Home Depot has also expanded its on-demand delivery services through partnerships with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart’s Big & Bulky service.¹⁰
• Ulta, the beauty retailer with more than 1,300 stores, similarly joined forces with Instacart in January of this year, in addition to its partnership for same-day delivery with DoorDash. “Complementing the existing relationship with DoorDash, together, both partnerships allow us to enhance the overall beauty shopping experience for our guests through added convenience and flexibility,” an Ulta executive summarizes.¹¹
• Even budget stores are adding same-day delivery services. Dollar General just launched a trial of its DG Delivery (available at select stores), confirming it’s feeling competitive pressure from other low-price retailers.¹²

Smart Lockers: Your Same-Day Delivery Advantage

While same-day delivery promises speed, smart lockers can deliver an even more superior experience for customers, delivery drivers, and retailers. Traditional same-day delivery often creates bottlenecks at retail locations, where delivery drivers compete with in-store shoppers in the same checkout or order pick-up lines. This inefficiency frustrates drivers – who want to be as efficient as possible – and disappoints customers – who face longer wait times.

Smart lockers elegantly solve this problem by creating a separate, streamlined fulfillment channel. Delivery drivers can retrieve orders in seconds without joining store queues, significantly improving their efficiency and delivery speed. This separation of fulfillment streams keeps in-store lines moving smoothly for shoppers while ensuring rapid pickup for same-day delivery personnel.

6 Easy Steps for Same-Day Delivery Order Collection

Order collection for same-day delivery drivers is quick and easy, allowing them to efficiently collect orders and get back to their delivery route:

1. The customer places an order online for same-day home or job site delivery
2. The store fulfills the order and places it in a locker
3. The same-day delivery driver receives a notification via text or email that an order is ready for pickup in a locker
4. The driver approaches the locker system and scans a barcode or enters the access code in their delivery app or pickup notification
5. The correct locker automatically opens, allowing drivers to retrieve their order in a matter of seconds
6. The driver repeats this process for all orders at the selected store locker system

Once they’ve collected all orders at the locker system, the driver is ready to return to their vehicle and start making deliveries. This process not only saves time for the driver but also makes same-day delivery even quicker for the customer.

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Smart lockers are a win-win solution that ultimately builds stronger customer loyalty through a better customer experience. Often available 24/7/365, they allow shoppers and delivery drivers to collect orders entirely on their schedule – no queueing required. In short, smart lockers are a convenient and efficient solution to meet customers’ demands for speedy, same-day delivery.

Ready to take your same-day delivery to the next level? Find out how smart lockers can help by speaking to a Parcel Pending representative today.

Sources:

1. Capital One Shopping. Online Shopping Statistics. capitaloneshopping.com. February 11, 2025. https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/online-shopping-statistics/
2. Capital One Shopping. Same-Day Delivery Statistics. capitaloneshopping.com. November 12, 2024. https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/same-day-delivery-statistics/
3. Ibid.
4. Capital One Shopping. Online Shopping Statistics. capitaloneshopping.com. February 11, 2025. https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/online-shopping-statistics/
5. Holman, Jordyn. You Want That Gift to Arrive Today? This Is What It Takes. www.nytimes.com. December 3, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/business/amazon-same-day-delivery.html
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Garland, Max. Lowe’s expands same-day delivery nationwide with OneRail. www.retaildive.com. July 17, 2023. https://www.retaildive.com/news/lowes-expands-same-day-delivery-nationwide-onerail/689143/
10. Walk-Morris, Tatiana. Home Depot expands on-demand delivery services with DoorDash, Uber Eats partnerships. www.retaildive.com. January 23, 2025. https://www.retaildive.com/news/home-depot-doordash-uber-eats-same-day-delivery/738097/
11. Ruben, Howard. Ulta taps Instacart for same-day delivery. www.retaildive.com. January 10, 2025. https://www.retaildive.com/news/ulta-beauty-instacart-same-day-delivery/737009/
12. Repko, Melissa. Dollar General tests same-day delivery as discounter chases Walmart. www.nbcnews.com. December 5, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/dollar-general-tests-day-delivery-discounter-chases-walmart-rcna183042