Digitec Galaxus, Switzerland’s largest online retailer, calls the slower delivery of online orders “snail mail”. Customers have been able to choose snail mail from Migros subsidiary since August and accept that delivery will arrive in one or two days.
A discount is not called – rather the information that logistics workers are relieved. This is urgently needed, as many employees reported on “SonntagsBlick” in the spring about unsustainable conditions in logistics centres.
Austrians are the slowest online shoppers
Snail mail works. This is illustrated by the initial intermediate balance of Digitec Galaxus, which Blick previously owned. 14.5 percent of Swiss prefer the slow delivery option. “Slow orderers help us a lot during stressful Mondays when we also process orders from the weekend,” logistics boss Stephen Garnett said in a statement.
Digitec Galaxus is happy with the value and hopes the snail mail will also bring relief on record days like Black Friday or before Christmas. But looking at neighboring countries, Swiss customers seem to be much less comfortable than our neighbors: in Germany, 17.6 percent voluntarily choose slower delivery, in Austria it goes up to 25.8 percent.
The higher the price, the faster the delivery
The younger the customers, the more urgent their orders: only 10 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds choose slower delivery. It is 18.6 percent among 55-64 year olds. Women are also more comfortable with birth rates than men.
The content of the order also has an impact on how quickly people want to receive their packages: the higher the value of the order, the less snail mail is selected. If you order a Playstation or smartphone, you want it in your mailbox the next day. On the other hand, if you ordered early enough, you could easily wait another two days for your grandchildren’s advent calendar.