How to do Contactless Delivery (11 Effective Tips and Ideas)

It’s been nearly a year and a half since we’ve all been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences in our lives, and with the new Delta variant, who knows how much longer this pandemic will continue. We’ve all had to deal with so many changes. Some “temporary” changes, such as curbside delivery or working from home, have now become a fundamental part of our life and are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Contactless delivery is another “convenience” that has suddenly become fashionable and necessary. This delivery process ensures that the drivers and clients do not come into physical touch, ensuring the safety of both parties involved in the transaction.

Customers want contactless deliveries with high safety precautions, and drivers and employees expect to work in a safe atmosphere with no physical contact with coworkers. In this situation, it appears that shops are in trouble. This new way of doing business will force the retail industry to adapt.

We’ll go over why contactless delivery is crucial, what businesses can do to make it a part of their delivery process, and how integrating technology will make it easier for them in this post.

Table of Contents

• What is Contactless Delivery?
• Recognizing the Increasing Demand for Contactless Delivery
• Examples of Contactless Food Delivery
• How do Companies Ensure the Safety and Success of Contactless Deliveries?
• How Does Technology Aid in the Process of Contactless Delivery?
• Contactless Delivery FAQs
• Are You Ready to Implement Contactless Delivery?

What is Contactless Delivery?

When a delivery package for a customer is left outside the door without making any direct, in-person contact with them, this is known as “contactless” or “no-contact delivery”.

The customer is notified of the successful delivery of the product via phone, text, or email via contactless delivery.

Contactless delivery has become the norm and a service trend closely followed by numerous firms around the world in the wake of the global Covid-19 outbreak and the present direction of social distancing.

Recognizing the Increasing Demand for Contactless Delivery

The idea of providing contactless delivery isn’t new. However, the Covid- 19 pandemic has forced restaurants, grocery stores, e-commerce, pharmacies, and other vital businesses to deliver orders to customers’ doorsteps while assuring client safety and taking extra precautions.

As people become more isolated or work from home for longer periods of time, the demand for groceries and medical supplies delivered to their homes is increasing.

Through autonomous delivery or automated vehicles, it will enable contactless delivery choices. Businesses in the area will be pressed even harder to use contactless delivery.

To back this up, we’ll look at some statistics:

• Nearly 37% of respondents said they used contactless delivery more than normal in the previous year.
• Over 85 percent of consumers would prefer merchants and brands to continue to offer choices like curbside pickup and contactless delivery, according to a Medallia Zingle survey on The Future of Commerce.
• Over the last year, takeaways and fast food services have increased by 8%.
• Amazon decided to hire 100,000 individuals for full-time and part-time positions at their fulfillment centers in order to keep up with demand.
• Prior to Covid-19, 78 percent of consumers visited merchants three times per week, but that number has now reduced to just 34 percent.

These figures show that this delivery method has now become the standard for delivering orders. It is critical, and many businesses must use it in order to keep their fulfillment workers and customers safe.

Examples of Contactless Food Delivery

Many meal delivery services began offering no-touch drop-off services for their customers in order to prevent physical contact as the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak increased.

• Postmates: In addition to delivering meal orders via contactless delivery, it also provides grocery delivery via Postmates Fresh with the highest level of security. Customers can choose to pick up their orders at their leisure.
• Grubhub: Grubhub’s clients can currently leave specific delivery instructions for its delivery drivers. However, following Postmates’ announcement, they began offering contactless delivery.
• DoorDash: In order to limit the close interaction between the Dashers and their customers, DoorDash altered its default delivery option to contactless delivery last year. Drivers will still need to verify the recipient’s identity for alcohol delivery.
• Uber Eats: In April 2020, Uber Eats began implementing contactless delivery for the safety and well-being of all parties involved in the process.

How do Companies Ensure the Safety and Success of Contactless Deliveries?

Here are some ideas for how you can do contactless deliveries while meeting safety criteria.

1. Staff Training: Your employees may or may not have received contactless delivery training. It is your obligation to persuade them of the importance of it. They need to be given all of the tools and information they need to stay safe while doing their work. Technical training and management tools might help you improve your skills as an employer.
2. Automated Communication: There will be no more face-to-face conversations with the dispatcher or fellow drivers. All communication must be done through a mobile app, from dispatching their delivery routes to advising them of any changes. The same can be said about your delivery driver’s and consumers’ communication.
3. Customer Education: To notify your clients about your contactless delivery options, you should have a solid marketing strategy in place. Communicate with them in a variety of ways. Make sure they understand why you’re doing it and how it’ll protect them. More than 35% of customers said that knowing about the options available can simply improve the customer experience.
4. Technology Investing: Neolix Technologies, a Chinese business, raised $29 million in 2020 to expand its self-driving vehicle production. It will enhance logistics efficiency while simultaneously lowering carbon emissions. Investments in improving contactless delivery technologies will only grow in strength, transforming the logistical experience.
5. Feedback: Begin collecting feedback from your employees and consumers after you begin offering contactless delivery. This can help you figure out whether or not contactless delivery is right for you. This input will give you valuable information and assist you in making educated decisions.

How Does Technology Aid in the Process of Contactless Delivery?

Here are seven ways that technology can help you with your contactless delivery operations.

1. Set up an online ordering system: You can receive orders from customers via internal messages on the app if you use an online ordering system like Shopify. Customers can simply select goods from a menu and submit their orders to you.
   
   An essential feature of an online ordering system is that it allows clients to be more detailed with their requests. This arrangement can also send and receive important contactless delivery messages and notifications.
2. Use contactless payments: Customers can pay for their products online with ease thanks to technological advancements. Customers can transfer money digitally using a variety of payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Both parties involved benefit from digital payments because they make it easier to complete the transaction.
3. Communicate digitally: With the help of technology, immediate communication between drivers and clients about any specifications or changes to the delivery may be dealt promptly. Customers can be kept informed by sending delivery notifications on a regular basis.
   
   Any communication required for contactless delivery must be done digitally rather than face-to-face. This is where technology may be extremely beneficial to both drivers and customers.
4. Use photo proof of delivery: You must give proof of delivery for each order, whether you are delivering pizza or prescription medications. How will the drivers be able to show that they completed all of their daily deliveries? And without the signatures of the customers? It’s fairly simple. Drivers can take digital proof of delivery in the form of notes or photos using their phones.
   
   The digital proof of delivery can also be shared with clients and dispatchers to confirm that the delivery order has been fulfilled. Another reason for a company’s reliance on technology is to make the distribution process more efficient.
5. Keep customers informed: It will be tough to keep clients informed about what you offer and how you do it if your restaurant or store is not open and no customers are there. Having an app or a site where your clients may contact you is the ideal answer.
   
   Regular clients, as well as new ones, will be able to find you if you have a website or an app. You can transmit any vital information about your business, products, or marketing to your customers via the app or website.
6. Use Reporting and Analytics: You can keep track of each of your delivery orders and streamline your inventory and dispatch with the correct set of technical solutions.
   
   In addition to record-keeping, the tools can provide reports on your distribution operations on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis. It gives you the information you need to understand how your delivery process is working and whether you need to make any changes.

Contactless Delivery FAQs

What are the advantages of contactless delivery?

It is simple to keep customers and workers safe from catching the virus if there is no direct or in-person physical connection between them. In the current environment, this service trend is the most beneficial for both shops and their customers.

What is the procedure for contactless deliveries?

Customers can choose contactless delivery as an option. In this instance, the delivery drivers can simply drop the product outside the house, or consumers can go to the store and retrieve their package without having to deal with a store employee. Customers are given with online payment choices in advance for this delivery type.

What is the best way for me to offer contactless deliveries?

To make contactless deliveries available to your clients, you must first inform them that such a service is available.

1. Create an online ordering platform.
2. Add a contactless delivery option to the menu.
3. Carefully select and train your delivery drivers.
4. Set up an online mechanism to receive payments for orders.
5. Before and after delivering the orders, sanitize all utensils, packages, and other instruments.

Is Walmart able to deliver contactless payments?

Walmart does, in fact, provide contactless pickup and delivery for fresh meat, organic foods, pantry basics, laundry detergent, paper towels, diapers, and other items. EBT cards can be used to make payments online. The packages will be left outside the door for delivery. The personnel will load your automobile in a few minutes if you choose contactless pickup.

Are You Ready to Implement Contactless Delivery?

People turn to options like curbside pickup and no-contact delivery because retail businesses, restaurants, and grocery stores are unable to allow customers in.

Training your employees, integrating more technology, managing customers, and transitioning to this new model of delivering deliveries with safety measures can be difficult for a firm.

Fortunately, you can find all of the assistance and information you need to get started.

And using software like EasyRoutes can help you on your contactless delivery journey.

You can learn more about EasyRoutes Delivery Management App by Roundtrip at Roundtrip.ai.