Evening chaos at work. Mid month challenges. Missed deadlines.
Peeked at the sky outside. Instead of the crimson horizon the sky seemed to have opted to be covered in shades of black and grey
Thunderstorms start. Thankfully outside the office and not inside the office.
Rain starts pouring. Intensity increasing. Pitter patter seeming like shatter .
Wished it would also pour inside the office and cool off the work related heat of the day . Unprecedented intensity of showers . Unceasing and unrelenting.
Thought it was time for some hot snacks and hot beverages .
Sitting in another country and experiencing this I had reached out for my usual food delivery app and started placing an order. Pressed the “Confirm” button and completed the payment process.
Then a message flashed – “Due to heavy flooding your delivery will take at least XX minutes more that our normal delivery time. We want our drivers to be safe in this weather. Appreciate your understanding.”
Not only was the message appreciated but it also struck a chord.
For me it was just about a few taps and clicks and then start tracking my rainy weather snacks. But there was a driver outside who had to navigate this weather and make the delivery.
In India we routinely read stats of delivery staff meeting with accidents- sometimes serious or even fatal. We access only the reported information and have no idea how much is unreported.
And the population engaged in delivery services, especially time bound services like food delivery continues to increase . Mainline food delivery apps now employ 400,000 delivery partners each. Quick Commerce providers are estimated to engage 300,000 plus delivery partners and this metric will keep on growing given the level of investment pouring into this category.
Most movies now begin with a statement that no animals were harmed during the making of this film. Similarly organic produce has become a salient attribute for a whole new set of customers.
On the same lines there will soon be a significant segment of customers that want the convenience of food delivery or grocery delivery combined with the safe and secure aspect of the delivery service partner .
“No driver or anyone else on the road -a pedestrian or another driver were harmed in making your delivery “. Imagine seeing this flash on your favourite food or groceries delivery app.
This opens up a whole new set of customer engagement opportunities for delivery apps.
Try booking an airline ticket or doing a hotel booking. Once you move into the payment flow there is likely to be a pre-ticked option for travel insurance embedded .If you do not opt out then your booking will include this travel insurance package.
While delivery app companies may not always be able to provide adequate accident and life insurance covers – it is worthwhile for insurance providers to create unique covers and give customers an option to pay a nominal additional charge for each delivery to insure the delivery partner against medical expenses , vehicle damage or loss of life due to any accident.
During and post covid it was reassuring to see a notification on my delivery app that my driver has been fully vaccinated against covid 19 . On the same lines delivery partners drive their own vehicles and may not be able to service their vehicles regularly. Will be great to see a notification that the delivery driver is driving a fully serviced vehicle thereby enhancing driver safety.
Additionally imagine providing information that the helmet , weather apparel and other safety gear provided to this delivery partner is functional, tested and updated .
It will be great for delivery apps to build genuine partnerships with vehicle service providers and ensure that vehicles of delivery partners are adequately serviced and tested for safety. Also a significant branding opportunity for categories ranging from tyres to two wheeler manufacturers to two wheeler service centers.
“Your driver made this safe delivery using rain proof XYZ Tyres.”
We routinely see indicators from airlines showing what percentage of their flights were on schedule. Adapting that same concept, imagine opening your delivery app and seeing an indicator or tracker on the app which shows that during the current year hundred per cent of their deliveries have been accident free.
Research from China, which has millions of delivery partners, indicates that delivery partners are also prone to repeated traffic violations including ignoring road signs, speeding and jumping red lights.
Now visualise a message from your delivery app stating that – “ Your delivery may be late by ten minutes but we wanted to let you know that your driver has had zero traffic violations since starting off . She or he is equally focused on both your delivery and on adhering to traffic rules .”
Doordash, a US based delivery app hat operates across multiple countries continues to add safety guidance on speed limits and traffic violations for their drivers.
The opportunity now is to take this information to customers to reassure them that their midnight hunger pangs did not cause an accident or that their driver did not drive rashly because they were waiting for their delivery to get their party going.
For the delivery partner segment in the US there are apps like Upper for optimal route planning, Flush to locate nearby restrooms, Gasbuddy for finding cheap fuel and tracking fuel expenses. Another huge opportunity to create similar India centric apps targeted to making life easier for delivery partners. Delivery app owners themselves would consider bulk subscriptions given upsides on delivery partner productivity and partner engagement .
I started the new year with a smile watching Sai Paranjpe’ 1982 classic Katha based on the fable of the hare and the tortoise. We all know who wins in that fable. In the domain of delivery apps focused on more discounts and faster delivery there may also be room and emerging customer preference for apps that focus on delivery partner safety. Just as Quick Commerce has become a buzz word and an investor magnet it may be opportune to create another proposition. Safe Commerce!
We use phrases like “Take Care” and “Stay Safe” all the time in our daily interactions. We may also want to make that a reality for delivery partners when we place our next order.
