CitySprint News

The growth in online retail looks set to continue as retailers celebrate a positive festive season. Big brands such as Tesco and Debenhams have reported improved results  and the British Retail Consortium released data suggesting that the sector enjoyed the 'best total sales growth for December since 2005.'  The bad weather may have helped as people decided not to brave the elements but regardless of the snow and chilly temperatures online retail is a trend most definitely set to continue.

But how do retailers not only maintain this momentum but also differentiate themselves against competitors? There is still plenty of growth opportunity in the online retail sector, online sales only account for around 4 per cent of total retail sales; these factors will ensure that anyone serious about retail will be reviewing their online strategies for 2010 and onwards.

Whilst online shopping offers a convenient method of shopping, the potential downside is the time you often have to wait. There is an impatient person in all of us and the anticipated delay of receiving items can be enough to make us abandon our online shopping baskets and reconsider our options. For many retailers a NextDay courier service remains the quickest option. However, if a shopper misses the cut-off time on Friday they would most likely have to wait till Tuesday before they received their delivery. A delay of around 4-5 days, for what has been, until now, considered the 'premium' delivery service.

During Q4 of last year (2009) CitySprint launched a new SameDay courier service which is changing the face of online retail by offering customers more control and flexibility over their delivery. CitySprint launched the service in September 2009 with online retailer ASOS.com and has since been inundated with requests from other retailers as they seek to replicate the service.

CitySprint's unique infrastructure is one of the key reasons it is able to offer a national SameDay delivery service which operates 365 days a year 7 days a week.  In a time when many organisations have chosen to streamline their locations CitySprint has remained committed to its national network. It is this geographic presence and strength which makes the Retail solution possible. In order to offer a robust SameDay solution to retailers, it is vital that the logistics partner has fleet located near the retailer's distribution centres.

Other key factors include CitySprint's investment in technology; the dedicated Retail Support Team which works hard to ensure deliveries are made according to the retailer's SOPs; its investment in technology; and its fleet of 1500 couriers who are uniformed, security checked and drive branded vehicles which adhere to strict standards. This attention to detail and focus on high standards ensures that the retailer's brand is protected and superior levels of customer service are maintained right through to delivery.

So if retailers are serious about maximising the opportunities which exist for online shopping the future is CitySprint SameDay Courier Delivery.