From coast to coast, a strategic network of retail fulfillment centers helps ensure that when online shoppers click “buy now,” there’s a high likelihood that they can get their online order within a couple of hours. More and more, online retailers are offering same-day delivery options to help meet rising customer expectations, like the 80% of consumers who expect same-day delivery when they shop online. 

But for rural shoppers, it’s a different story. Take Texas, for example. Everything’s bigger in Texas — including the distance between those major metro areas. Seymour, Texas, for instance, sits more than 50 miles from Wichita Falls, 100 miles from Abilene, and more than 150 miles from Dallas. They don’t have a superstore right up the road. As a result, like rural residents everywhere, Seymour’s 2,500 shoppers have a different perspective on what “fast delivery” really means. 

But with that in mind, more retailers are coming to understand that rural customers deserve the same delivery speed and convenience as their urban and suburban counterparts. Understanding how these consumers shop online is key, and so is offering a great delivery experience, even if it’s off the beaten path.

Rural Shopper Snapshot

An upcoming Roadie consumer survey reveals key differences in rural, suburban and urban customers’ delivery priorities. For the survey, urban shoppers live within a major metro area, suburban shoppers are within 50 miles of those areas, and rural customers live outside that 50-mile radius. Here are the most telling highlights:

1. Delivery Windows Matter Less. While most online shoppers prefer to choose a delivery window for expensive or oversized items, this preference is less critical in rural areas.
2. Rural Customers Expect More Delivery Problems. Rural residents are well aware of the issues their far-flung locations can bring, and they’re twice as likely to expect one bad delivery to lead to more. 
3. Who Takes the Blame? When delivery problems do arise, rural shoppers are more inclined to place the blame on the delivery company than on the retailer. 

That’s not to say retailers are in the clear if a delivery experience goes wrong. Damaged items and orders never received are among the top delivery incidents that would deter them from shopping with that retailer again. 

Ultimately, retailers need to pay close attention to the delivery partner they select for rural areas. Knowing that rural customers are already primed to expect something will go wrong, and they’re willing to shop elsewhere if the infraction is bad enough, delivery performance will strongly shape brand perception in rural areas. 

On-Demand Delivery Can Win Over Rural Customers

E-commerce faces some challenges when delivering to rural areas, but not all of them relate to the distance between warehouse and doorstep. Fast delivery may not be as in-demand in the country as it is in the city, but customers expect — and deserve — dependable delivery no matter where they live. Earning their trust and loyalty means effectively addressing their concerns, and not just boasting delivery speed.

On-demand delivery through the Roadie platform gives retailers the ideal blend of speed and reliability that shoppers want, whether they live in the middle of the city or the middle of nowhere. With Roadie, you’ll leverage an extensive driver network — many of whom will be familiar with those country backroads — that can reach more than 97% of U.S. households and even offer same-day delivery within 100 miles of any inventory location. It’s your answer to serving rural customers quickly and effectively with the same network of fulfillment centers you leverage for urban and suburban deliveries. 

Even more importantly, the Roadie platform helps ensure a positive delivery experience with features that are important to rural customers, like real-time order tracking, two-way communication between drivers and recipients, and easy delivery — even for oversized items. Features like these help gain rural customers’ trust in both your delivery service and your brand.

To grow your rural delivery capabilities and build confidence among customers outside the city limits, reach out to Roadie today.