Running Insight

driven by a desire to afford customers the ability to shop, purchase and receive items when they want and how they want. With Amazon offering same-day delivery in some markets, BRP said "the push is on for retailers to get items delivered to customers as soon as possible." Though many retailers offering same-day delivery do not represent direct competition to run specialty shops, they nevertheless shift the paradigm and alter consumer expectations. Once upon a time, after all, no-hassle returns weren't so commonplace. When major retailers pushed the practice mainstream, however, customers shifted, too, and compelled other retailers to fall in line. Today, the concept of the hassle-free, no-questions- asked return is rather ubiquitous across the retail landscape, including at run specialty shops. Today, same-day delivery appears to be following a similar trajectory – a one-time outlier fast approaching mainstream practice. Confronting the challenges of same-day delivery To date, same-day delivery has been slow to take flight in the running retail space and understandably so. In spite of its potential, many shops have neither the human nor financial capital to devote to such an effort, which could mean pulling someone off the sales floor to run a delivery or absorbing the charges of a third-party vendor, especially since so many consumers expect free delivery. In Minnesota's Twin Cities, the three-store Run n Fun chain began offering same-day delivery through BoxFox about three years ago. According to Run n Fun co-owner Kari Bach, recipients must be within a 30-mile radius of a Run n Fun location and delivery fees are based on mileage, maxing out around $18. "This is really about convenience and that customer who needs something right away," Bach says. The Run n Fun part of the equation is rather simple: when a customer calls with a request, an associate plugs that order into the BoxFox system. Later, a BoxFox driver picks up and handles delivery. Bach says the service has not gotten as much play as she'd like as the store only delivers "a couple of packages" each week. "We had hoped to get some of that Amazon customer, but it just hasn't taken off like that," she says. "Still, it's a good tool to have and we're committed to it." If Run n Fun offered same-day delivery for free, Bach feels use of the service could accelerate. For now, however, that's not a cost the company can absorb. "It would be tough to take an employee making close to $20 an hour off the floor and have them in a car for 45 minutes," she says. At CRC, same-day delivery is free on weekday orders of $75 or more. Local customers can request a product in store, by phone or online and CRC can accommodate same-day delivery provided the order is placed before 5:00 p.m. and the product is in stock at one of CRC's four Columbus area locations. Fruth admits that CRC has an undeniable advantage in Ridenour, a man tasked to drive between the CRC stores and distribute inventory in a wrapped CRC van. "This would be more of a struggle if we just had 8 runninginsight.com © 2018 Formula4media LLC. Same-Day Delivery (continued) RUNNING INSIGHT 51% of retailers offer same-day delivery. 16% same delivery up from just one year prior. 65% of retailers will offer same-day delivery in the next year. Source: 2017 report from Boston Retail Partners (overall retail, not exclusive to run specialty) Fit TRI Run, located in Galveston, TX, offers its customers same-day delivery as a personal touch.

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