249: Quick Commerce - is super-fast delivery here to stay?
Quick Commerce, online services that deliver products to your door in minutes, appear to be booming at the moment. Boosted by a huge shift in consumer habits during the pandemic, new companies have been sprouting up all over the place. In some parts of the UK, it's possible to get groceries delivered to your home in just 10 minutes. But is a model where pickers, drivers and processing staff have to rush orders to customers in the time it takes to make a decent cup of tea financially sustainable? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, made in partnership with Accenture, we delve into the world of Quick Commerce and look at where the evidence suggests the sector might be heading. Who is the target customer? Which markets are proving most fruitful? And is anyone making a profit? Promotional pricing and super-fast delivery times might attract new customers, but how long can they be sustained? Will the gig economy continue to be the staffing model of choice, or, as in some parts of China, will there be a shift to employing fully-trained staff in a bid to improve the customer experience? We discuss all of this and more, with the over-arching question: Is Quick Commerce here to stay and what might it look like in future? Matt Jeffers, Managing Director of Retail Strategy, Accenture Matt has led projects covering omni-channel strategy and e-commerce performance improvement for multiple retailers across grocery, DIY/building materials, apparel and luxury goods sectors. Prior to this, Matt led Tesco.com’s international development, launched it in China and oversaw the internal strategic growth plan for the Group. He also planned Tesco.com’s strategic development in Central and Eastern Europe and across Asia-Pacific.