Online retailers will face four major challenges in the post-pandemic world, according to a trend analysis by e-commerce shipping specialist DHL eCommerce Solutions, an arm of parcel giant Deutsche Post DHL Group.
The main trends that could affect how business plan their shipments include: taking a multi-carrier approach, facing continuing capacity constraints, tackling cyber security threats, and reinventing brick and mortar operations, according to the group’s “2021 E-tailers’ Almanac.”
Many shippers had already begun to follow a multi-carrier approach before the pandemic but the trend accelerated quickly over the past year, as some logistics operators placed caps on the volume of parcels they accepted added surcharges to those they did. Those conditions are now expected to remain throughout the year, pushing online merchants to line up multiple carriers, Weston, Florida-based DHL eCommerce Solutions said.
Those capacity constraints will continue to be a topic on e-tailers’ radars this year, due to the expected continuation of business-to-consumer (B2C) growth, DHL said. That condition could push online shippers to take a different approach by paying a premium to secure peak holiday season capacity.
At the same time they are scrambling to get their parcels delivered, e-commerce firms face a growing threat from cyber security conditions. So as brick-and-mortar stores hurried to build up their online presences and accelerate their digital transformations, many of them invested in real-time cyber threat intelligence with centralized monitoring and risk analysis, DHL said. But in light of increasing data breaches and security threats, e-tailers must now implement tighter security measures and controls to ensure an optimal safe online shopping experience.
Finally, many stores shifted their fulfillment strategies as they shuttered brick-and-mortar locations to endure a lack of shoppers following pandemic stay-at-home orders. In consequence, some shifted to a “dark store” model, converting their traditional retail stores into local fulfillment centers to support trends like buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS) and parcel lockers.
