4 Ways Flexible Delivery Can Boost Business During the Holiday Rush

‘Tis the season for consumers to purchase tons of food, gifts, and everything in between as they gear up for the holidays. As a business, you’re likely hitting a busy period as consumers rush to cross items off their shopping lists. 

If you’re feeling the crunch of not having enough delivery drivers available this season, want to reach more customers or wish that you could offer same-day or on-demand delivery — a delivery marketplace can make a world of difference.

Delivery marketplaces like Nash can quickly give you access to hundreds of delivery fleets nationwide. Fleets on Nash are ready to deliver your orders as soon as you access the platform. Plus they come with preset rates, so you don’t have to take the time to negotiate contracts or hire more drivers. 
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Here are some ways to leverage delivery marketplaces to boost profits and make the most of the busiest shopping month of the year.
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Tapping into a delivery marketplace can give your business some much needed flexibility during the busy holiday season.
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1. Expand your delivery radius to reach more customers

If you’re currently limited to delivering, say, 10 miles out of your stores, then a delivery marketplace can help increase coverage. With hundreds of fleets to choose from, you can find a delivery provider who can more than double your reach with reasonable prices, so you’re making a profit with these farther-reaching deliveries.

You can get more business by promoting an expanded delivery area to your customers, email list, or social media. It’s sure to grab attention because with everyone juggling holiday obligations, work, family, and other important responsibilities—fast, reliable delivery is much appreciated.
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2. Easily handle overflow and give your drivers some relief

Any business seeing an uptick in delivery might be experiencing a common issue: there are not enough drivers to deliver the orders without asking them to work overtime or run long routes.

Give your drivers some relief and use a delivery marketplace to bring on trusted third-party providers to deliver overflow orders or create additional, more efficient routes. More delivery options also result in more on-time, in-full deliveries—which will make customers happy and increase the chance they’ll return.
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3. Offer on-demand or same-day delivery

Small online businesses on Shopify, Square, or a brick-and-mortar that only offer standard shipping can enhance their delivery experience by offering select, local customers on-demand or same-day delivery. Plus, with a delivery marketplace like Nash, you can do this at a reasonable rate for both you and your customers.

Over 50% of customers prefer same-day or next-day shipping directly from the retailer. This offering can be a lifesaver during the holiday season, because, honestly, who hasn’t had to buy a gift at the last minute?
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4. Level up your catering delivery

Offer catering? If so, you might know the pain of not having the best delivery quality—especially if you’re outsourcing deliveries to a third-party gig fleet. 

With a delivery marketplace like Nash, you can seriously level up your business’s catering delivery and hire fleets with W-2 drivers. These are fully-employed drivers, not contractors, and they can meet specific requirements like white-glove services, keeping food hot, and even managing setup and teardowns—all for a reasonable price.

We’ve all been there where we get a catering order that’s just plopped on a table, still in bags, and is up to us to set it all up. You want to avoid that this busy season and provide a memorable experience.  Better delivery quality = happy and retained customers.
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Snapshot: How Nash Helped a California Grocery Chain Deliver Over 500 Orders for Thanksgiving

Just last week, we saw how important flexible delivery can be when a business is slammed with holiday orders.

During Thanksgiving, a grocery chain used Nash to handle over 500 overflow orders from a single location as their customers scrambled to get last-minute groceries and catering. Here’s what happened:
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• Over 99% of the orders were completed successfully
• 100% of successful orders were delivered on time
• 7 different delivery fleets were used to complete deliveries
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“Smoothest holiday we’ve ever had.”  - Catering Manager