Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

Australia Post says next-day delivery is becoming increasingly important to shoppers.Credit:Nick Moir

“Speed is important ... but what they[consumers] really want is reliability,” he said.

“And in the current market conditions we are seeing consumers go to value.[They’re] not shopping less online – they’re being more selective in where they shop.”

The service has launched in metro Melbourne,Sydney and Brisbane for a select group of retailers. Merchants who use the service can access extended cut-off times for processing orders,meaning customers can place orders later in the day for next-day delivery.

Graham said Australia Post had simplified its back-end systems,so it could quickly identify Australia Post Metro orders and prioritise them for delivery the next day.

More brands are expected to start using the service in coming months. There are plans to extend the offer to “new metropolitan geographies” too.

Australia Post is looking beyond the current spending slowdown to the future growth of e-commerce,and says one in every three retail dollars will be spent online in the next 10 years.

A quarterly e-commerce update from Australia Postreleased last monthshowed the number of households that regularly shopped online was growing,despite transaction growth slowing.

While online shopping is becoming more entrenched,carriers are feeling cost pressures. Australia Post recently raised parcel delivery prices by asmuch as 10 per cent from July, citing rising energy,labour and fuel prices.

Graham said the group’s new metro delivery service was competitively priced for businesses,and fast and reliable delivery would help increase consumer engagement during this time of weakening consumer confidence.

“If they get a terrific experience,the stickiness of the customer increases,” he said.

The government is conducting a review into the modernisation of Australia’s postal service,looking at how Australia Post can remain competitive assnail mail continues to decline.

The review is expected to launch a conversation about changes to delivery frequency of letters and how prices are set for sending paper mail.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories,exclusive coverage and expert opinion.Sign up to get it every weekday morning.

clarification

This story has been updated to reflect that Australia Post expects one in three retail dollars to be spend online by the end of the decade.

License this article