Covid-19 has affected many business entities such as healthcare, transportation, restaurants, eCommerce, local stores, and hospitality. These are the businesses that are facing challenges in the middle of a pandemic. Sadly, most of the companies have closed temporarily, while some are trying to alive in the market. Meanwhile, they are finding new ways to run the business during the pandemic. They are staying in touch with customers through digital channels.
Luckily, restaurants are now adopting a new alternative to deliver food to their customers just because of the high demand for food. Similarly, leading eCommerce companies are also introducing a new option called contactless delivery. Also maintaining guidelines of Covid-19 and observing with 100% hygiene and safety norms.
The pandemic has changed the world overnight. Many countries have been affected and ruined due to Covid-19. Businesses are struggling to serve the customers. They have to change their ways to serve customers. In this guide, we’ll explore one of the major changes, already on demand right now. That’s a contactless delivery.
What is Contactless Delivery?
Simplified for everyone involved, contactless delivery ensures no physical contact between workers, delivery partners, and customers. This innovative method is a lifeline for businesses navigating the chaos of the pandemic, allowing them to adapt and thrive while prioritizing safety and hygiene. Notable companies like Amazon, Instacart, and Walmart have embraced this approach, reshaping their operations to meet evolving needs.
With contactless delivery, food delivery platforms can deliver an order at the customer’s doorstep, rather than knocking on the door and asking for payment and all. Customers have all the rights to choose a location, the timing of delivery as the delivery person will notify them through call, message, or email about order collection. Luckily, the payment mode is also contactless as payment can be made by a website or third-party app. All they want is to make sure safe and comfortable services for their customers by avoiding physical contact and implementing cashless delivery services.
The Demand for Contactless Delivery in 2024
The pandemic has imposed contact delivery to become a necessity while this technology is nothing new, especially for hotels and grocery stores. You might have experienced contactless delivery in this pandemic.
Do you think that it’s just only for food delivery services? Not at all, because other industries have also started implementing contactless delivery to reduce contacts with people, such as hotels, building complexes, offices, and many more.
How Contactless Delivery Works?
Although many companies have started using contactless delivery options to make sure safety. Let’s look at the standard process of contactless delivery. How it works for food delivery apps or online eatery shops.
- Go Online: Visit the online eatery from where you want to eat.
- Book Your Order: Explore options and choose your favourite dishes from your favourite restaurants to place an order.
- Zero contact Delivery: Click on the zero contact delivery option while placing an order.
- Delivery of your order: Get your order delivered to your doorstep at your convenience.
How You Can set up a Contactless Delivery in Your Business Operations?
The only way you can control the spread is by implementing the contactless delivery framework in your business premise. No matter, you are a restaurant owner, or a grocery store owner, or any eCommerce store. Let’s set up your business premise with end-to-end hygiene and by following every safety norm.
1. Integrate Contactless delivery Option in Your Website
The first and important task is to implement the contactless delivery option on your website or digital platform. Add a zero contact delivery option to enable contactless delivery. You can implement any methods at your convenience as all you need to do is visible as much as you can to the customer. You should acknowledge and share this on your website. So that they can implement it later.
2. Daily sanitization and cleaning
Can of worms! As you know that hygiene should be the priority to control the spread of Covid-19 and so sanitization. Maintaining good hygiene plays a vital role for those dealing with the food and grocery business.
- Office essentials like computer devices, phones, printers, office doors, and tablets, which are being used many times a day, need to be disinfected.
- A delivery person who comes to your premises should sanitize their hands and body.
- Delivery vehicles used by delivery agents need to be sanitized daily.
3. Train Your Staff
Yes, you need to train your staff as it is important in contactless delivery service. Meanwhile, you need to take extra precautions when you have to deliver to your customers.
- You need to guide your staff on how to receive and deliver orders.
- They must be guided about the functionalities of a contactless delivery service.
- Ensure them for safe delivery and instruct how to communicate with customers.
- Provide training on the online collection system and let them collect via a digital mode.
- They must be aware of packaging for safe delivery.
- Maintain social distance in the premise and divide your employees into shifts (if possible).
- Take the initiative of wearing masks and gloves while working in a crowd.
- Make the habit of frequently washing hands.
Benefits of Contactless delivery or No-contact delivery
The benefits of providing contactless delivery services are many. From comforting delivery operations, delivering safely and digitally, such a method of delivery can help businesses stand out from the competition.
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Encourage Business
The pandemic taught businesses across the world why it’s important to invest in digital platforms and technologies. Although the vaccine is being distributed, it’s a long way until everyone is being vaccinated. Hence, businesses that were closed because of lack of contact with customers and poor delivery experience. Such a delivery method can help in generating revenue while maintaining a contact and best-class delivery.
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Stop the Spread of the Virus
This is the most important benefit you should consider for a contactless delivery service. Now, many people are arguing that with nations opening up and businesses back in operations, why is it important to have contactless delivery? Well, if you see then it is the best way for you can maintain social distance, ultimate care, and effective services. So, being safe than sorry is always a great deal to perform operations.
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Cashless Payment
Cash on delivery is replaced by cash on “digital doors”. Yes, payment through digital platforms and secure digital wallets reduce all inefficiencies. It makes sure customers that their payments are in safe hands. Using digital payments, businesses can enhance cash flow, ease audit processes and shrink billing cycles. The need to use contactless deliveries drove customers to get into the habit of digital payment modes. And that’s how businesses can assume that cash on delivery will be replaced by cash on digital doors.
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Inflate Brand Loyalty
There’s a message behind the contactless delivery option. A message that says you care about others whether they are your customers, delivery partners, or anyone. It enhances the relationship between the brand and the customer. It ensures consumers that your business is good to go with, and that makes them happy. This notably inflates brand loyalty.
Conclusion:
As all are suffering from this pandemic, meeting customer’s expectations and adopting new technologies can help you set the new normal for your entire business operations. Using a contactless delivery service can help you to run your business smoothly and efficiently. You can run a business in such circumstances. Meanwhile, you have to take extra precautions, to integrate this option.
M-connect Media would be happy to serve your company to shift to the new normal with contactless delivery solutions. Get the help of our eCommerce consulting services for your business to go contactless!