Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Report: Pandemic-induced home delivery trends unlikely to last

Most consumers likely to revert to pre-Covid buying habits for essential items as conditions return to normal, research shows.

Screen Shot 2022-02-08 at 3.46.07 PM.png

The surging use of home delivery services in the past two years is unlikely to last as pandemic conditions ease, according to research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.


Researchers from Rensselaer’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering found that more than 90% of people who use online delivery services such as Instacart, Grubhub, DoorDash, and Amazon are likely to revert back to their original ways of shopping when the threat of the pandemic is gone.

The researchers surveyed more than 900 consumers and used computer modeling to determine the extent of increased delivery, product demand, and likely usage trends. The results were published in a paper titled, “Adoption of delivery services in light of the COVID pandemic: Who and how long?” by Associate Professor Cara Wang and co-authored by Woojung Kim and Joshua Schmidt, doctoral students in Rensselaer’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The research identified four distinct types of delivery service users–non-adopters, prior adopters, temporary new adopters, and permanent new adopters–and divided delivery services into four different categories: groceries, food, home goods, and other items. Essential services had the highest proportion of new users during the pandemic, with the number of people using grocery delivery increasing by 113%. The study found that half of those new users would not continue that behavior after the pandemic, however.

Temporary new adopters accounted for a larger portion than the permanent new adopters for essential items, while there were more permanent new adopters for less essential items, the researchers said.

The results will help predict future demand and can be used to shape transportation and logistics policies, they also said.

“Answering these questions is essential to estimate the current and future demand for deliveries,” according to José Holguín-Veras, director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment at Rensselaer and also a co-author of the paper. “Transportation professionals and researchers have assumed that people would still rely on delivery services even after the [Covid-19] crisis is over. However, in reality, consumers’ technology acceptance is much more dynamic and complex during a pandemic than during normal conditions. Understanding these nuanced behaviors is essential for sound transportation policy making.”

The Latest

More Stories

DHL graphic on online shopping marketplaces

DHL report shows seven factors about American online shoppers

Online merchants should consider seven key factors about American consumers in order to optimize their sales and operations this holiday season, according to a report from DHL eCommerce.

First, many of the most powerful sales platforms are marketplaces. With nearly universal appeal, 99% of U.S. shoppers buy from marketplaces, ranked in popularity from Amazon (92%) to Walmart (68%), eBay (47%), Temu (32%), Etsy (28%), and Shein (21%).

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

schneider app screenshot for owner operators

Schneider seeks more business with owner-operators

Transportation and logistics service provider Schneider National Inc. is reaching out to owner-operators, encouraging them to do more business with the Wisconsin company using an updated digital platform.

Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.

Keep ReadingShow less
Logistics economy grew in October

Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy grew in October

Economic activity in the logistics industry continued its expansion streak in October, growing for the 11th straight month and reaching its highest level in two years, according to the most recent Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released this week.

The LMI registered 58.9, up from 58.6 in September, and continued a run of moderate growth that began late in 2023. The LMI is a monthly measure of business activity across warehousing and transportation markets. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
port of vancouver

West coast dockworker strike could dent Canadian economy

The port worker strike that began yesterday on Canada’s west coast could cost that country $765 million a day in lost trade, according to the ALPS Marine analysis by Russell Group, a British data and analytics company.

Specifically, the labor strike at the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and Fraser-Surrey will hurt the commodities of furniture, metal products, meat products, aluminum, and clothing. But since the strike action is focused on stopping containers and general cargo, it will not slow operations in grain vessels or cruise ships, the firm said.

Keep ReadingShow less
trucks used by jillamy 3PL

Texas 3PL Mode Global acquires Jillamy’s freight brokerage arm

The Texas third-party logistics firm (3PL) Mode Global has acquired the freight brokerage business of supply chain service provider Jillamy, saying on Monday that the deal advances its strategy of expanding its national footprint.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less