Expandingyouraudience:deliverysolutionsfordifferentdemographics

Building an understanding of your audience will allow you to tailor your marketing, products, and delivery process. Different people want and expect different things, so having the right options available to them can boost both your sales and the customer’s satisfaction.

At Zedify, we provide a range of logistics solutions to help you and your customers get the most out of every order. This article will focus on how to improve your understanding of your audiences, and what delivery solutions are suitable for each one, helping you to grow and develop your business.

Distinguishing your audience demographics

The first step to expanding your audience is to understand the different demographics that make it up. This list should include both your active customers, and the markets you might be missing out on due to options you currently don’t offer.

To understand your audience, and what each demographic needs, it is good to look at common traits that can influence buyer decisions. Here are some common factors that affect expectations for deliveries:

Age. The primary factor that determines what a buyer expects from a delivery is age. Younger generations are more in tune with the growing marketplace, and so are up to speed on the latest delivery methods and expect faster delivery than older people. At the same time, they’re typically more versed in environmental issues, meaning sustainability becomes a larger focus.

Gender. In our modern world, gender is not nearly as impactful on buyer behaviour as it used to be. However, there are still some differences when your audience is largely one gender over another, so it is useful to consider.

Interests. While not as impactful on perceptions of delivery methods, a buyer’s hobbies and interests can make a difference – usually in the form of what product is being purchased. If it’s something they need urgently, they’ll want to get it quicker. This can also apply to other forms of purchase as well, such as for gifts, perishables, or medical supplies.

Job. Someone’s occupation can also impact how quickly they need something, and how they want it to be transported. While it is useful to consider buyer job roles when planning your logistics, the main reason this factor affects expectations is due to other traits common in given job roles, such as age and capital.

Spending money. How much money someone has to spend is likely the biggest factor that determines what they want from a delivery. People with limited spending money will likely want cheaper delivery options, while those with more to spend will more often prioritise expedience. Spending money ties in with many of the other factors on this list:

• Younger generations are likely to have less spending money, while older generations typically have more.
• The Women’s Budget Group 2023 survey indicates an 8.3% to 15.4% gender pay gap in the UK, which means women typically have access to less money than men.
• Some hobbies are more expensive than others, which can affect delivery cost expectations in multiple ways depending on the wealth of the individual. If they have lots of money, they’re unlikely to care about delivery costs, while if the hobby or interest is a significant investment for them, they’ll care more about every pound.
• Someone’s job isn’t a full indication of their wealth, but is the main factor that can be used to determine it when building your buyer personas.

Building out your buyer personas

The key to building a buyer persona is to gather the data for your audience around the various factors listed above, and categorise them into various personas that can be used to inform your marketing and delivery decisions.

A good way to do this is through surveys, which give a broad view of your audience. You can incentivise this through giveaways or discount codes, and spread the word through wide-reaching channels such as social media. It’s important to note that these channels do favour certain demographics over others, so make sure to have varied research methods so you can get the most accurate overview.

Another good method is to see your buyers in person. This can allow you to better understand their expectations and use this to flesh out your buyer personas.

Once you have your buyer personas in order, the next step is to find the delivery methods that match.

 

What is the most popular delivery option?

The most popular delivery option in the UK depends on the product type and the buyer’s expectations, determined through their buyer’s persona. This means there is a large amount of variance in what can be considered ‘the most popular’.

However, the a 2023 Statista survey on online shopper expectations showed that a large proportion of people (between 32% and 64%, depending on product) expect same day delivery, and within that still there were people who expected deliveries within 2 hours (16% to 40%). This shows a growing awareness of what is possible regarding delivery times, and a growing need for agile solutions to match buyer demands.

Here are some of the most popular delivery options in the UK:

Same Day Delivery

As indicated by the Statista survey, same day delivery is a highly sought-after option for e-commerce. Particularly common in younger generations, but also those with more to spend, same day delivery offers near-instant access to products for a premium (often comped into the cost).

To offer same day delivery, you need access to reliable, centralised logistics – good options include drone deliveries, or cargo bike deliveries (like the ones at Zedify!) from key urban centres. 

Find out more about our same day delivery >

Next Day Delivery

A far more logistically feasible option than same day delivery, next day delivery is still a popular method in modern e-commerce. Since it allows more time for planning, it is generally cheaper, and means you don’t necessarily need the stock immediately on hand for it to turn up on time.

Next day delivery can utilise a larger range of delivery options such as vans, cargo bikes, or even planes for international shipping.

Find out more about our next day delivery >

Free Delivery

An incredibly popular delivery option is free delivery. Generally, the price of free delivery will be included in the product, so it’s more of a psychological effect for the customer as delivery fees are often seen as ‘wasted money’.

Free delivery is most popular in younger generations, and those with less spending money, as they are typically more frugal about where their money goes and have higher expectations for free delivery being available.

Standard Delivery

While trust in the UK’s national postal service has dwindled, standard delivery remains an important option, particularly for older generations. The trick is to use courier services who can keep their promises and deliver on time.

Since there’s more leeway with standard delivery, the focus can be on ensuring an efficient delivery process that cuts costs, combines multiple deliveries into one, and limits environmental impact – which can be even furthered through electric vehicles and other sustainable delivery methods.

Explore more options with our article on the top five delivery methods for e-commerce >

 

Meet each audience’s expectations with last-mile delivery from Zedify

By applying your buyer personas, built on the various factors detailed above, to the advantages and expectations of different delivery methods, you should have a firm understanding of what each audience demographic needs regarding deliveries.

Speed, sustainability, and price are the three biggest influencers for buyer decisions when it comes to e-commerce – and at Zedify, our delivery solutions tick all the boxes. Whether by cargo bike or electric van, we help your customers receive their products quickly while simultaneously lowering environmental impacts. Get in touch today to find out more!

Check out our beginner’s guide to reverse logistics >

Learn more about sustainable delivery with our article on avoiding greenwashing >