There are some stores that offer home delivery services at a marginal cost. It cannot escape any conscientious shopper that the cost of goods can drastically increase when you factor in transportation costs and probable damages along the way. These stores bear the costs of any damages associated with this. Do you have such in your jurisdiction?
I always had online purchases home delivered because it's more flexible in our case. There's one time that one of the items was delivered in a damaged state, good thing you are allowed to test the product before the delivery person leaves, so the product was returned without any problems.
I have had some items delivered to my door step because there was no in store pick up option. When I order a schedule is sent to me where I am told the date and time I will be receiving my items but they always take 2-3 hours more. Sometimes I rely on what they say but I end up waiting for them instead.
By law in the UK the sender is responsible for the good being delivered whether it is tracked or not. I know some delivery drivers fake signatures, but that's when they get caught out. Proof has to be shown, and most companies have insurance and will claim on it. I have had stolen parcels and ones that have gone missing, and I have always been compensated. It can be a hassle, but that's why many require a signature on delivery these days.
Home delivery is one of the facilities in a big stores to accommodate their customers who order bulk items. In our place, schools are the usually customers of these stores. Annually they order lot of school supplies, office and other items for teaching materials.
I can't opt for a home delivery as there is no courier agencies nearby. Whenever it arrives they use to call me and I have to go and pick it up. Once I got a product which was not performing as promised by the seller. I returned the product to Amazon through courier and they credited my money back. But the whole process took around 7-10 days. It is also a headache to followup the courier when returning a product. That is why offline shopping is always my first choice whenever possible. In case of a faulty product I can get it changed without any loss of time and money towards sending it back.
I've also buying items online which offers door to door delivery as I find it very convenient. Just like earlier, I have received the product I ordered online and was really happy and excited about it however when I checked the item, it was a bit different from what I have ordered online and wasn't able to ask if the courier does accept returns. Well I thought they don't since they just let me sign the receipt and head off.
In order to increase sales so many of the big stores that have strong online presence have factored in home deliveries locally. Many customers including me who hardly have enough time out for shopping take advantage of this very helpful and responsibility taking services. One of such local big store doing this I know is Jumia.
I still get a little weary giving out my home address, and I always have so I am not sure that this will change anytime soon. I get that this is really where it is going though, and I am pretty sure most of what we buy will be online and delivered before we know it.
Home delivery was one of the best things ever invented in this world. As long as you know where to place your orders, everything is so much more practical and secure that it makes the experience of making orders even better. Whenever it is necessary, I make those types of orders (and to this day I have nothing to complain about).
During my stay in Bengaluru, the Indian hub of IT I visited number of stores, small and big which gladly arranged delivery without any extra charge to your home within a radius of 2 km provided the shopping was worth certain amount. They even accepted telephonic order/ shop there and ask them to deliver which was favorite of female shoppers with kids. They accepted payment on deliver so everything was covered in that.
There are several stores of this nature either they do it as a courtesy or to maintain their goodwill. Either ways the customer benefits from the home delivery convinience. I have bought from both online and offline stores with such facilities. It is truly enjoyable to avoid hassle of going to the store to pick up your choice of an item.
Depends how important the item is and how quickly I need it. Most of the time I will make sure to only buy from places that offer free shipping. I don't like paying for shipping as most of the time I get my items at a discounted price but after paying for the shipping the discount is not worth it.
@Decentlady I think they do it to remain in business more than anything else it's one of the most attractive features for consumers if they get their grocery items delivered at their residence once they complete their shopping and leave it in a shopping trolley to be delivered at their residence while they walk to other stores and buy other things.
I have a good amount. It's normally worth it because whatever is being transported (usually furniture) can easily be broken or messed up. However if they are the ones bringing it, anything that may happen to it will be covered.
In Metro Manila, there are 2 stores that provide home delivery of purchases. One is Rustan’s Supermarket which caters in the business district of Makati City. The customer can call for the order and with a minimal charge for the delivery, the goods will arrive within an hour. Another is Mercury Drug, the biggest pharmacy chain in the country. You can also call to order over-the-counter medicines (not needing prescription) and have your order delivered to your home. I just don’t know if there is a delivery charge by Mercury Drug. Commerce is truly booming in this delivery arrangement that maybe in the years to come, everything will be subject to delivery.
I love the convenience of home delivery, even for something as run-of-the-mill as day to day groceries. Sometimes the time it saves me to have something delivered is worth the price of delivery and then some. If an item is damaged when it arrives, that's kind of a let-down, especially if you have been waiting awhile for the item to arrive, and when it finally gets to you, things aren't as they should be. But that is what a return policy is for, and of course it's always best practice to have to sign for something so that you can inspect it before the delivery person leaves your house.
That's more popular in online stores, but not in our local stores over here. I think they do not see the need to offer a home delivery service when you can just simply go to their nearest branch and buy the items there. Even the delivery for the supermarket goods has not yet been introduced here, although I know in other countries they're available already.
