Quick Summary
- Contactless delivery is a way of delivering orders without face-to-face interaction, by leaving goods in a pre-agreed safe location and confirming delivery digitally.
- It improves the delivery experience by letting customers receive orders on their terms while still getting clear proof of delivery.
- It helps boost first-time delivery rates because drivers can complete drops even when customers are not available in person.
- It supports health and safety by reducing close contact between drivers and recipients while maintaining reliable service.
- Businesses can implement contactless delivery by clearly informing customers, training drivers, and using tools like delivery notifications and photo proof-of-delivery.
Contactless delivery has gone from a niche option to a standard expectation for home delivery and last mile services. Customers want the flexibility of not having to be at the door, while delivery teams still need clear proof that every order was completed correctly. Done well, contactless delivery improves first-time delivery rates, reduces disputes, and makes the whole delivery experience smoother for everyone involved.
If you already collect photos or signatures as proof of delivery, moving to a contactless delivery setup is mostly about updating your process, not reinventing it.
What is Contactless Delivery?
As the name suggests, contactless delivery is the process of delivering goods to a customer without any physical or human interaction. This usually involves leaving the goods on the doorstep, or in secure storage at the drop-off point as arranged with the customer beforehand.
Contactless delivery first became more common during periods of disruption to traditional delivery and retail, when people were looking for more flexible ways to receive orders. Since then, it has become a standard expectation for many customers and is now part of how they choose who to order from.
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Why is no contact delivery important?
As no-contact delivery became more common, delivery companies and small businesses started to see wider benefits beyond the original reasons for offering it. Some of the main reasons they now rely on contactless delivery include:
Enhancing the contactless delivery experience
As more consumers have begun to shop online, there is a greater volume of packages being delivered directly to their homes than ever before. Customer experience has always been a top priority for the strongest of brands and businesses, but ensuring the same levels can be difficult without an in-store interaction.
That’s why ‘the delivery experience’ has become a new focus. The delivery experience is about giving the customer a smooth, predictable journey throughout the delivery process. With fewer touchpoints in the customer journey, ensuring that your customer has that 5-star experience is now critical to your reputation.
Contactless delivery is something consumers have now got used to, so they expect businesses to provide it. We’ll talk a little more later in this blog about how you can ensure that level of service.
Improving first-time delivery rates with contactless delivery
Missed deliveries are expensive. Re-routing orders and wasting drivers' time is a huge suck on your resources and can quickly impact your bottom line. In this regard, contactless delivery has a very direct benefit to delivery businesses as well as the customer.
By having the ability to make deliveries without interacting with the customer, your drivers can reduce the time spent at stops and avoid having to return to the location later. The result is that your drivers will serve more stops per vehicle, and will reduce fuel consumption. You’ll also end up with happier drivers, and at a time when they are so scarce, this may be the difference between scaling your business or not.
These small gains can have a big impact on the profitability of your business, so getting your contactless delivery right can reap rewards.
How to implement the perfect contactless delivery service
Offering contactless delivery seems like it should be easy, right? Just drop off the goods, back to the vehicle, and on your merry way.
Wrong.
If you’re going to offer it as a service, you need to ensure that it’s enhancing your delivery service and business. It shouldn’t just be about convenience if it creates problems for your brand or customer relationships. To help you get it right, we’ve outlined the steps to implement the perfect service below:
Make customers aware of the no contact service
Your customers can’t avail of the service if they don’t know you offer it. It might sound silly, but it is important to communicate it to customers.
At SmartRoutes, our route optimization solution sends an automated SMS or email to your customer with the planned estimated time of delivery. This is the perfect opportunity to inform your customer that they aren’t required to physically receive the goods. See our sample template below:
Give drivers training and support in how to do no contact delivery
Getting buy-in from your drivers is key to the success of contactless delivery. After all, they’re the ones that will ultimately actually do the deliveries.
First off, drivers should be given instructions on how to make contactless deliveries. Similarly, they should know when not to leave a package unsecured.
If it’s a low-value product, you may get away with leaving it on the doorstep. However, if it is a high-value product, you may want to ensure that it is delivered securely and that it is not at risk of damage or theft.
This follows on from the first step where you actively engage the customer about how they want the delivery to be completed.
At SmartRoutes, we have solved this problem with a dispatch note feature that allows you, or your customer to attach a note for the driver at the time of purchase or dispatch. This ensures that drivers don’t waste time trying to contact the customer and that they do not have to re-route the delivery on a later run.
Contactless delivery doesn’t end once the goods are dropped off
This is one of the most common mistakes we see with the implementation of contactless delivery.
Although it might seem like the job is done once the parcel is dropped off, that’s not the truth. Unlike standard delivery, there is no interaction with the customer and the tacit receipt of the delivery is not as easy to prove.
That’s why photo proof of delivery is so important in contactless delivery. Because customers can’t sign for the delivery, capturing a photo of the delivery in situ at the drop-off can save you disputes when customers say they didn’t receive it. It is hard to argue with a clear photo of the delivery on the customer's property.
The SmartRoutes delivery route planner includes a mobile app that allows drivers to snap a photo of each delivery, attaching it directly to the specific order on the app.
Even better, these photo POD’s are instantly attached to the order on the Desktop Delivery Manager, so you and your team at the office or depot can instantly answer any queries that customers might have over the phone. Our research at SmartRoutes has shown that customer notification, combined with instant access to PODs at the office, can cut the time spent handling customer queries by over 80%.
3 Real Examples of Contactless Delivery
1) No contact food delivery case studies
One of the biggest areas where contactless delivery has taken off is in the food delivery space. Big players like Dominos Pizza have begun offering the service and customers have been quick to adopt it.
On a smaller scale, we’ve helped businesses like Le Patissier to offer contactless delivery. They are a boutique pastry business that delivers their food directly to customers. By utilizing customer delivery notifications, they were able to ensure that their fresh produce was delivered securely, even in the absence of their customers.
You can learn more about how they implemented a great delivery service here.
2) Contactless newspaper delivery
In the internet age, our news sources have become up-to-minute reflections of what’s happening at any given moment in the world.
However, many of us still enjoy having a physical newspaper to read. We’ve slowly come to understand the benefits of putting down the phone or tablet, and reading good old-fashioned newspapers again.
The challenge with newspaper delivery is that the news must therefore be on the customer's doorstep when they get up in the morning. These deliveries MUST be contactless.
At SmartRoutes, we’ve helped Ireland's leading newspapers, Irish Times, and Irish Independent to successfully roll out a home delivery service for their readers.
3) Agri-feed and fertilizer no contact delivery
Agriculture is often overlooked, but it is the industry that keeps all the other wheels of our economies moving.
No farmers, no food.
But farmers are also some of the most time-poor amongst us, and they are constantly on the move to keep their operations running smoothly.
That means that they can’t always be present to take delivery of goods on their farm. With lots of storage spaces and feed silos, contactless delivery can be a challenge for truck drivers.
We’ve helped Grennan's to offer contactless delivery in some of the most challenging of circumstances.
No contact delivery: what to do now?
Contactless delivery is here to stay. Whether you are just starting your delivery journey, or want to offer it as part of an established delivery service, following the steps and learnings from the examples outlined above will give you a great start.
When contactless delivery is done well, it can save time and money, while improving your service and reputation. Although it might seem like added work, it can make life easier for you and your drivers too.
If you would like to see how SmartRoutes can help you set up or improve contactless delivery, you can start a free trial with our platform.
FAQ
1. What is contactless delivery?
Contactless delivery is a way of delivering orders without face-to-face interaction. The driver leaves the order in a pre-agreed location or follows clear drop-off instructions from the customer, and the delivery is confirmed digitally.
2. How can my customers request contactless delivery?
Customers can request contactless delivery during the ordering process by ticking a box, choosing a preference at checkout, or adding a note with their drop-off instructions. You can also invite them to contact your team if they need something more specific.
3. What if my customer is not available during the contactless delivery window?
If a customer is not available, you can complete the delivery by following any agreed instructions for a safe place to leave the order. If that is not possible, they may need to reschedule through your delivery platform or by contacting your team. Using photo proof of delivery and sharing it with the customer helps them know where and when the order was left.
4. Are there any specific items that can't be delivered using contactless delivery?
Many items work well with contactless delivery, but some may still need a handover. This can include goods that need to be put straight into cold storage, high-value items that require a signature, or deliveries that have special handling rules set by your business.
5. What are the benefits of offering contactless delivery?
Contactless delivery can raise first-time delivery rates, cut the need for repeat stops, and give customers more control over how they receive orders. It also works well alongside photo proof of delivery, which reduces disputes and gives your team clear records for every drop.
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Caroline Hassett
Caroline Hassett