The e-commerce phenomenon continues to grow in all European countries, Italy in the lead, marking a + 8% in the number of e-shoppers who made a purchase for the first time in 2021. Italy ranks 7th in Europe for the number of packages received, with very high percentages of recurring purchases equal to 46% of regular e-shoppers, corresponding to 14.8% of all purchases made online with an average of 42 annual transactions. To characterize the identikit of Italian e-shoppers – identified in the 3 profiles of “Aficionados”, “Epicureans” and “Eco-selective” and who buy mainly 3 categories of products, books, beauty and clothing – is a greater loyalty than European average and the choice of the trusted retailer based on the reputation of the platform and greater positivity and ease of the shopping experience. This aspect is particularly affected by the return process, for which 75% of Italian e-shoppers appear to be more satisfied compared to 55% of Europeans. However, expectations for improvement of the delivery service remain high, which 84% prefer to be carried out in their home, but with 3 key options to determine their satisfaction: choice of the day and time of delivery, knowledge of the time in advance and real time information on delivery. However, the percentage of Italians who want home delivery is decreasing, in favor of Out Of Home solutions, a delivery model that is characterized by hourly flexibility, capillarity and convenience for recipients.
To draw the picture is BRT, the first Italian express transport company. The data are contained in the research “E-shoppers Barometer 2021” carried out by DPDgroup, the largest European operator in the sector of which the historic company brand, based in Bologna, has been an integral part since January 2020.
In the vision of BRT, which has now completed the transition from a family business (the “Bartolini courier”) to a global industrial enterprise within the DPDgroup / GeoPost network, e-commerce is increasingly a driving force for economic growth and innovation in terms of opportunities for hybridization of business models and access to global markets, with potential for vertical development, at least in the medium term.
Provided, however, that the end customer is really at the center of the system with increasingly tailor-made services and high added value. On the business side, this means first of all ensuring the ability to interactively manage and control the shipment with a direct dialogue and increasingly real time. On the end user side, the challenge will increasingly be played on the opportunity to offer so-called “last mile” solutions with ever greater options for delivery, collection and returns even outside the home, with maximum flexibility of time, delivery options and dropping mode.
In line with these trends, BRT has activated and implemented a wide range of ad hoc services and projects. Among the novelties, the new myBRT – recipient platform, which allows the user to manage the delivery of their shipments in complete autonomy, with a suite of services designed to ensure maximum flexibility. Furthermore, the enhancement of the customer care service thanks to greater technological investments, to which is added the advantage, which has always been a distinctive point of BRT, of the management entrusted to its own specialized internal staff and therefore with a considerable reduction in response times and taking charge. of the need. Much appreciated by customers with an e-commerce is the “Plugin-BRT- fermopoint” solution, now available on the main platforms used by Italian companies – from PrestaShop to WooCommerce – to allow their online buyers to collect the shipment even at the point network. BRT-fermopoint collection points, displaying the location on the map, opening hours and days in comfort.
The integrated system of options put in place for recipients also goes in this direction. First of all, advanced messaging with a 2-hour delivery window, real-time notifications via sms and email, myBRT to track the shipment in real time and the possibility of delivery directly to your home floor for packages of any volume. and the so-called “In flight option” which allows you to change the date and place of delivery after the shipment has departed, including the BRT-fermopoint network among the delivery options beyond your home.
This network was created with the intention of giving life to a new delivery model that allows you to choose between newsstands, tobacconists, stationeries, bars and other small businesses as a place for collection and delivery. The service takes place in a more comfortable way and with much more flexible hours, with the possibility for the customer to choose the BRT-fermopoints open even on weekends, until late evening or non-stop. In addition to the advantages in terms of flexibility, rationalization of the process and in terms of environmental sustainability due to the reduction in the number of handling sections in the last mile, the system has interesting repercussions in terms of traffic on local points of sale as a support to proximity economy. The BRT-fermopoint network is growing at a very rapid pace, since the beginning of the year about 100 new points every month, for a total of 5,400 to date throughout Italy.
With this in mind, the first Smart Urban Depot came into operation in Bologna, a center entirely dedicated to the customer where you can send and collect your package by checking the quality of the product received on site – or testing it directly, in the case of clothing, in comfortable internal spaces – and make the return at the same time. The Smart Urban Depot BRT, located in the city center in a strategic area home to offices and companies of various types (Via Irnerio 23a), is used for low emission delivery, within the framework of the Green Strategy adopted by the company, thanks to the provision of a full green fleet consisting of Cargo Bikes, equipped with mini-containers for the transport of goods. This is the first example of a system of “city branches” which from Bologna as a forerunner will be extended within the year to other medium-large cities in the area.
“Our commitment is to follow every customer, taking care of every need and at every stage of the process with increasing attention and anticipating needs as much as possible – comments Dalmazio Manti, CEO of BRT – Today we are able to transport any type of product, of any weight and volume, in any part of Italy and far beyond the European borders, from the smallest municipality to the big city, with such a highly personalized service and on all major business segments. The Industrial Plan launched in 2025 will enrich this trajectory with new assets, further enhancing the capillarity of our network, the digitization of processes, the improvement of the customer experience, consolidating our position in B2B and growing ever more strongly in the sector of ‘B2C e-commerce ».