More than a million people affected, tens of thousands of people dead, thousands of companies in lockdown – The Coronavirus has completely turned the world upside down. From huge tech giants like Apple to small retail stores in the villages – every business is greatly affected by this pandemic.
Social distancing and quarantining seem to be the only ways to control the superfast spread of this viral disease. This has led governments to order lockdowns and force people to stay at home and not go out.
So, people have no other option but to rely on businesses that offer home delivery services. While this deadly disease has shaken many businesses to their roots, the delivery business is on the upswing.
Let’s see how this corona pandemic impact the online delivery business.
#1. Online Food Delivery
As it is unsafe to even go outside, sitting and eating in restaurants is completely out of the question at this point of the time. Also, in many nations, the government has forbidden people from gathering outside.
So, many restaurants have started offering take-aways and home deliveries. South Korean food delivery service provider, Yogiyo saw nearly 3 to 4% increase in orders every week, starting January.
As for Asia’s top food delivery company, Food Panda, the orders for online food delivery increased by nearly 80%. Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats, Doordash, and Grubhub are a few of the other food delivery service providers that saw a huge increase in online food orders.
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#2. Online Grocery Delivery
French retailer Carrefour says that their vegetable deliveries have increased by nearly 600% in the last few months.JD.com, a Chinese online retailer saw a nearly 215% increase in online grocery orders from the end of January to the start of February.
Walmart Grocery has reported an increase of 160% of orders in the last few months. Other top retailers in the US like the Shipt and Instacart have also seen a phenomenal rise in online grocery delivery orders in February and March 2020.
Not only are these companies seeing a huge rise in online orders, but they are also seeing a large number of food delivery app downloads during the same period.
#3. Mail and Delivery Services
The mail and delivery services have been going on as usual in most countries. The government postal services are operational in most countries. UPS and FedEx continue to provide their services.
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#4. Ecommerce Deliveries
While home delivery of food and grocery is seeing an increase across the globe, e-commerce stores that traditionally offered home delivery services are seeing a huge slack in the business.
Ecommerce retailers are finding it difficult in both procurement and delivery. As governments are tightening the strings on free movement, e-commerce retailers are forced to cancel orders.
With more people working from home, there is an increase in orders of laptops, power banks, chargers, and other electronics. However, due to many constraints, e-commerce stores are not able to deliver the products on time.
Though there are no restrictions on the delivery of essential products such as groceries and medicines, online stores are not able to deliver products because of local transportation problems. The other problem is that of manpower.
With increased restrictions and self-quarantine, many employees are not able to come for work. As the vendors are understaffed, deliveries are often delayed. Flipkart and Amazon in India have almost come to a standstill because of the lockdown situation.
Risks Involved in the Delivery Business
The steep increase in home delivery services can be attributed to the fact that people are advised not to go outside. Also, many governments have imposed lockdowns, which have brought down shutters on the retail outlets.
So, the people now rely on home delivery service providers for food, groceries, medicines, and other essentials. Though these companies have stepped up their services in this time of need, there is a huge risk for the people at the last mile of the delivery.
Companies are insisting that they are continually sanitizing the products and place of production. Also, delivery persons are insisted to use safety precautions while going out for the delivery.
Many home delivery companies have come up with a solution to reducing the risk for both the delivery persons and the customers. This new approach is called zero contact delivery or contact-less delivery.
The delivery person will place the food or grocery package on the doorstep of the customer and inform the customer. The delivery person will then move back to a safe distance. The customer can come outside and collect the order. This method ensures that there are minimal contact and less risk of infection.
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Conclusion
The economic condition is grim across the world because of the havoc caused by the COVID19 virus. Currently, the home delivery service providers are seeing a rise in their business when compared to all other sectors and businesses.
However, the risks involved in this service industry are also very high. So, it is important to ensure safety standards are followed at every step.