Buying online has become part of the Portuguese routine, leading to the proliferation of ultra-fast delivery platforms. Receiving purchases at home – whether it concerns food or supermarket products – is a service that consumers do not forego and that is precisely why the brand that delivers the fastest wins.
Half an hour is the average time most platforms claim to deliver orders placed over the internet. Quico Continente was founded at the end of last year, which is now only active in Lisbon and Porto, but promises to deliver orders for a set of about 5,000 items, including ready meals, in less time. The brand tells DN/Dinheiro Vivo that it has so far managed to deliver on its value proposition.
“Currently, our average delivery time is less than 30 minutes,” says a company source. For the time being, all deliveries cost 0.01 euros, but “in the future it is expected that we will adjust the price to market-based levels, always combining promotional attractiveness with the sustainability of the business model”.
Bairro Direct was launched at the beginning of this year in order to respond to the still existing gap in the market for ultra-fast deliveries. Milana Dovzhenko, co-founder of the brand, reveals that the company has processed more than 200,000 orders to date, with more than a million items sold. “E-commerce and ultra-fast deliveries have become an advantage that consumers no longer want to give up,” says the official, referring to the fact that “in Portugal, the fast delivery already about 1.3 billion euros”.
This is because “only 13% of top retailers in Europe offer same-day delivery, while 67% of consumers say they are willing to pay for this service,” explains Milana Dovzhenko, explaining that many of the orders placed in marketplaces have defects, which Bairro Direct fixes. And since one of the brand’s goals is to ensure a better online shopping experience, it guarantees that they can “complete orders between 30 minutes and three working days, when it comes to shipping across Europe”.
For its part, Glovo, which has been operating on the national market since 2017, continues to expand its activities. The company says it has been “growing every year and 2023 is no exception”. “We continue to record double-digit growth, with the usual seasonal fluctuations,” explains Glovo’s spokesperson, noting that the brand’s small warehouses had “over 100% growth.”
While the platform has no minimum or maximum delivery times, as they depend on the flexibility of the partners, the brand’s “major goal” is “for users to receive their orders in less than 30 minutes, which is something we fulfill,” says the officially.
Bolt Food’s activities in Portugal are also growing. According to Manuel Castel-Branco, the person in charge of the platform, the company is on “a very positive path” and has “good prospects for the future, with new cities in sight, as well as potential new exclusive partners and new features on the horizon “. This year, the numbers achieved by the brand so far show a growth trend identical to that of 2022.
Manuel Castel-Branco acknowledges that Bolt Food is in a very competitive market, saying that the platform has been distinguished from the start by “providing the most competitive price for its customers” and that, like its competitors, it aims to get the most deliveries done in an average of 30 minutes.
Uber, on the other hand, says that “average delivery time is 30 minutes,” explaining that burgers, pizza, and sushi are the most requested categories. “Secondly, we do grocery deliveries, where bread, eggs and bananas are the most requested products,” he explains.
Broader sectors
With covid-19 also came the need to receive larger purchases at home. 360hyper was born at the beginning of the pandemic and after the lockdowns transformed the business model into one marketplace supermarkets, such as: Continente, Auchan, El Corte Inglês, Minipreço, Makro and Recheio, among others.
Although purchases are not delivered within half an hour, there is the advantage of having it shopping public customers doing shopping for the customer. As Filipe Nery, co-founder of 360hyper explains, “We can deliver from four hours in e-commerce.
We are also distinguished in that, depending on the distance from the place of purchase to the store and the volume of the order, the platform allows you to make a purchase from q trade with deliveries up to an hour”. The average time is two and a half hours.
Mercadão, which only supplies Pingo Doce items, states that the minimum delivery time is two hours, as it depends on shoppers’ supply at any given time. “Our delivery times are very advantageous because they do not force the customer to stay at home for a long time,” assures Alexandra Matos, head of content at Mercadão.
At the moment, says the person in charge, the survival of the company after the lockdown is “the big challenge we have”, taking into account the “slight decrease in the number of orders” following this sanitary solution, although the brand “succeeded to maintain a level of balanced business”.
Mónica Costa is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
