How Is Hyperlocal Delivery Transforming The Way India Shops and Ships?

Evolving consumer behavior has forced business owners today to focus more on speed. B2C and D2C brands are doing everything possible to enable superfast delivery of their products. In fact, most companies are adopting the hyperlocal delivery model to delight customers with faster SLAs than their competitors. Globally, the hyperlocal market size is expected to reach $5,188.60 billion by 2030, with India being at the helm of a hyperlocal delivery revolution.

To elaborate, the term "hyperlocal delivery" refers to order fulfillment within a limited geographical radius. Typically, the pickup and delivery of these orders occur within a radius of 8 kilometers, frequently in the same Pincode. These orders are packed, processed and delivered quickly on the very same day, with delivery times ranging between 10 minutes to 4 hours.

Tracing the origin of India’s Hyperlocal Delivery Revolution

Even before the pandemic, online shopping was gaining popularity in cities and towns across the country. However, the lockdown in 2020 led to an unprecedented surge in eCommerce, particularly for essential goods. As a result, large eCommerce players began to dominate the quick commerce space, in turn, forcing local offline retailers to adapt and offer instant home delivery services.

The trend continued to grow even after the lockdown was lifted, with hyperlocal delivery gradually becoming a mainstay in everyday logistics. The pandemic acted as a catalyst for the hyperlocal delivery, which has become a fundamental need for consumers in India. This paradigm shift in eCommerce logistics has had a significant impact on the retail industry in India, with local shop owners, grocers, and pharmacists all having to adapt to stay competitive.

Impact of hyperlocal delivery in eCommerce logistics

From a business’s point of view, the best advantage of hyperlocal delivery is the reduction in overall logistics costs. It can and has helped a lot of brands to save on unnecessary warehouse rents or transport costs by optimized hyperlocal services like omnichannel pickups.

It is easy for new eCommerce businesses to quickly jump on the hyperlocal bandwagon. However, the story is different for older companies that traditionally relied on large warehouses and distribution centers. They are now opting for services like micro-warehousing — which enables them to store their orders at prime locations in a city nearer to the customers.

In the food and grocery sectors, ten minute delivery is now the mainstay. The real challenge comes if you are a non-food, non-grocery business, as most logistics providers take between 24-48 hours to deliver even essentials like medicines. However, Blowhorn is able to leverage the hyperlocal delivery model for our last mile using strategically located micro warehouses. The model also enables same day delivery for a wide range of businesses like pharmaceuticals, electronics, FMCG, lifestyle, agro food and even luxury gifting.

D2C brands are using hyperlocal delivery to deliver online orders directly from their retail outlets spread throughout a city. One of Blowhorn’s clients, a leading footwear brand of India, even managed to reduce their inventory costs by 55% by enabling retail store pickups for intra-city orders. Whenever an order is placed through their website, our system automatically identifies the nearest retail store to the customer which has that particular SKU in stock. System also alerts the store owner about the pick up time. Our delivery agent picks it up and delivery is completed within a couple of hours.

Hyperlocal delivery has also played a major role in holistic economic development of urban and rural communities. The rising demand for this mode of logistics is creating ample job opportunities for the Indian youth as delivery personnel. Many are even pursuing hyperlocal delivery work in their neighbourhood as a part time vocation for some extra income.

Hyperlocal delivery: The road ahead

There are indeed, certain challenges involved in the hyperlocal delivery process, from regulatory hurdles to lack of infrastructure. However, the gaps can be filled easily by leveraging technology and supply chain resources. In a diversely populated country like ours, hyperlocal logistics can be the missing piece of the puzzle to build India into the next economic superpower.

Supply chain experts predict that the hyperlocal model will be the next revolution in Indian logistics. So it is imperative for eCommerce businesses to fire up their hyperlocal deliveries to stay in the game for the long haul.

Looking to start hyperlocal delivery for your business? Here’s how you can start a trial with us today!