Delivery robots are trundling down British streets, drones hover overhead with takeaway orders, and the BBC’s recent Dough podcast explored how autonomous couriers might revolutionise our doorsteps. Yet while the industry explores these technological marvels, the smartest businesses are discovering something rather old-fashioned: brilliant customer service beats flashy gadgets every single time.
The evidence is mounting that consumers care more about knowing when their parcel will arrive than whether it’s delivered by a human, robot or flying machine. This presents a golden opportunity for businesses willing to master the fundamentals while their competitors chase the latest tech trends.
The speed obsession has run its course
For years, the delivery sector has been locked in a breathless race to the bottom – or rather, to zero minutes. But consumers have quietly moved the goalposts. McKinsey research reveals a remarkable turnaround: delivery speed has tumbled from the top consumer priority in 2022 to fifth place in 2024.
Meanwhile, patience is making a comeback. Nine out of 10 customers in America are perfectly content waiting two to three days for their orders, a level of restraint that would have seemed impossible during the pandemic’s instant-gratification peak.
The real kicker? 95% prefer free standard delivery over paid express options. Consumers have worked out that premium speed often comes with premium headaches, and they’d rather have predictable, affordable service than expensive uncertainty.
This shift opens up breathing room for businesses drowning in delivery costs. Instead of burning cash on same-day promises you can’t consistently keep, invest in systems that deliver exactly what you promise, when you promise it.
What customers actually want (and it may not be robots)
While logistics leaders debate autonomous vehicle regulations, consumers have been remarkably clear about their priorities. The gap between what businesses think matters and what actually drives satisfaction is vast (and profitable for those who spot it).
Recent research by DispatchTrack found that transparency trumps speed; customers would rather know their delivery is running late than be left guessing about a robot’s whereabouts. Yet the execution gap is enormous. While 80% of consumers expect regular delivery updates, only 28% can actually see where their delivery vehicle is in real time.
Even more telling is that half of all negative delivery experiences stem from poor communication, not late arrivals. The BBC’s Dough episode highlighted this beautifully when discussing Evri’s robot trials. As Craig Noonan, Evri’s UK Director of Communications and Brand, explained: “More and more people now are specifying accessibility options for doorstep deliveries. They want a bit more time to get to the door.” The real breakthrough wasn’t the robot dog itself, but how it enabled better accommodation of individual customer needs and delivery preferences.
Sorted’s platform bridges this communication chasm by providing carrier-agnostic tracking that speaks your brand’s language, not corporate courier-speak. When delays happen (and they will), our system turns potential disasters into loyalty-building moments through proactive, personalised updates.
Industry time constraints is where human service breaks down
The logistics industry faces genuine time pressures. With delivery volumes at record highs, drivers often have limited time windows at each address – sometimes as little as five minutes per attempt. For context, that’s barely enough time to finish reading this article, let alone answer your door if you’re upstairs.
Delivery success rates reveal systemic challenges across the industry, creating costs that ripple through the entire supply chain. While the industry once cited unsuccessful delivery attempts as costing the ecosystem around £4-6 per customer contact, recent research indicates this figure now often exceeds £11 per attempt, with severe cases such as lost orders reaching upwards of £147 per incident. These hidden costs – lost trust, abandoned future purchases, negative word-of-mouth – continue to impact every participant in the delivery chain.
This is where collaborative technology solutions make commercial sense for the entire industry. Smart integration helps carriers, retailers and consumers work together to solve these shared operational challenges. Precision location services (such as what3words) reduce address confusion, real-time route optimisation provides accurate time windows, and exception management systems catch problems before customers notice them. These industry-wide pressures affect all participants in the delivery ecosystem. The solution lies in better coordination and communication tools that help everyone succeed.
Our approach focuses on preventing failures rather than managing them. Our platform integrates with multiple delivery methods – traditional couriers, click-and-collect services – ensuring businesses can offer genuine choice rather than hoping one solution fits everyone.
The multi-modal reality – choice matters more than innovation
The future won’t be dominated by a single delivery method, despite what technology evangelists suggest. Recent UK research by Pro Carrier confirms that people want options, not obligations. While home delivery remains popular, the adoption of parcel lockers is accelerating: two in five adults (21 million) in the UK have used parcel lockers to collect, return, or send parcels in the past year, with usage especially strong among Gen Z and Millennials. This shift reflects the growing need for choice and flexibility in delivery experiences, rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Smart businesses are already building this flexibility into their operations. As the Dough podcast noted when exploring Evri’s multi-modal trials, the winning strategy combines humans, technology and customer choice rather than betting everything on one approach.
Consumers increasingly factor delivery flexibility into purchase decisions, valuing choice and control over their delivery experience. This is precisely why we built our platform to be carrier-agnostic from the ground up. We’ve never held carrier accounts or aligned with specific providers, ensuring completely unbiased service recommendations based purely on what works best for your customers.
Building sustainable experience advantages
The most successful businesses we work with focus on creating systematic improvements that build momentum over time. Here’s what we’ve seen work consistently:
Proactive communication systems: Rather than waiting for problems to surface, smart businesses get ahead of delivery issues. When weather might affect routes or traffic could shift delivery windows, customers appreciate hearing about it early. This transforms potential frustration into appreciation for thoughtful service.
Comprehensive delivery visibility: A 2022 Verte study showed that 91% of US consumers actively track their parcels, with nearly a fifth checking multiple times daily! Meeting this expectation has become table stakes for competitive delivery experiences. The businesses excelling here make tracking feel seamless and informative rather than complicated.
Thoughtful exception management Delivery hiccups happen to everyone. It’s how you handle them that matters. The most effective approach we’ve seen involves catching issues early and providing customers with clear options and realistic timelines.
How technology serves experience
Innovation works best when it solves genuine customer problems rather than chasing headlines. The most effective businesses combine reliable foundations with strategic technology adoption that enhances rather than replaces human service.
Our platform reflects this philosophy through architecture built for adaptability. Whether you’re working with traditional couriers today, exploring autonomous options tomorrow, or integrating services we haven’t imagined yet, the system evolves with your needs while maintaining consistent customer experiences.
The key is keeping customer value at the centre of every technology decision.
The businesses succeeding in delivery excellence aren’t necessarily the most technologically advanced. They’re the ones consistently delivering what they promise using the right tools for each situation – exactly the kind of thoughtful approach Greg Foot explores so well in the Dough podcast.
Interested in exploring how this approach might work for your business? Get in touch with our team to discuss building delivery experiences that customers genuinely appreciate. Sometimes the most innovative thing you can do is simply get the essentials exactly right.