Local delivery services are more essential than ever, providing businesses with the means to quickly and efficiently transport goods to their customers. The demand for seamless and reliable delivery solutions has skyrocketed significantly. This is because customers have become very particular about how and when they receive their orders. Local delivery apps are designed to help businesses streamline operations, reduce errors, and enhance customer satisfaction. They offer businesses the ability to manage multiple delivery locations, optimise routes, and track orders in real time, ensuring timely deliveries and boosting brand loyalty.
Let’s find out how you can not only meet but exceed customer expectations with apps specifically designed for local delivery services.
What are Hyperlocal Delivery Services?
Hyperlocal delivery services are based on an on-demand delivery service business model. It focuses on delivering goods within a small geographical area, from local merchants to customers. The geographical area is often limited to the same city or even neighbourhood. That’s why the term ‘hyperlocal’. It emphasises the extremely localised nature of the delivery service. It involves quick turnaround times within short distances.
Generally, local businesses use mobile apps, software, or web platforms to connect with customers and take orders. It also requires them to connect with local couriers to offer customers quick and reliable delivery services.
Hyperlocal delivery services can be used by any business. However, it’s most commonly used by and beneficial for the following businesses.
- Food and beverages
- Grocery and other essential items
- Medicines and other healthcare products
- Gift items
Here are the critical aspects of hyperlocal delivery services.
- Effective order management
- Compliance with expected time of arrival (ETA)
- Scheduling deliveries without any errors
- Supplier relationship management
- Customer relationship management
- Efficient shipping and logistics
As a hyperlocal business, you can operate on three different supply chain models. These include:
- Inventory-led model
- Aggregator or zero-inventory model
- Hybrid model
Top 10 Local Courier Delivery Apps in India
Let’s look at the top 10 hyperlocal delivery apps in India.
Borzo
Established in 2012, Borzo operates with a team of 250 members in India. Formerly known as WeFast, Borzo primarily focuses on serving small- and medium-sized enterprises through efficient hyperlocal delivery services. It offers a wide range of delivery services, including transportation of food, pharmaceuticals, eCommerce products, electronics, apparel, cosmetics, and more.
Dunzo
Dunzo is one of the leading hyperlocal delivery apps, offering a wide range of services. You can deliver anything from groceries to medicines. It’s known for its extremely quick grocery delivery services, ensuring order deliveries in just 19 minutes. In addition to its hyperlocal delivery services, it’s also popular for its pick-and-drop services. Dunzo is available in several cities, including Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
Porter
With 10 years of experience in the shipping and logistics industry, Porter is one of the most prominent hyperlocal delivery apps in India. In addition to hyperlocal delivery, Porter also offers door-to-door delivery services, instant deliveries, same-day deliveries, and more. It covers 20+ cities in India with more than 5 lakh delivery partners. Porter also offers intracity and intercity services. For instant delivery of goods within the city, you can choose its 2-wheelers and trucks.
Zepto
Zepto is one of the most popular grocery delivery apps in India. It offers 10-minute delivery in several Indian cities. These include Delhi, Pune, Noida, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and more. It has strategically placed delivery hubs within every 2 km radius and also uses a network of small neighbourhood warehouses to fulfill orders. Zepto fulfills local orders within an average time of 10 minutes.
Swiggy Instamart
Swiggy Instamart is a hyperlocal grocery delivery app. As a quick commerce delivery service, it offers rapid delivery of everyday essentials. It uses advanced logistics solutions to deliver orders within 15 to 30 minutes. Available in more than 25 Indian cities, it offers the delivery of a wide range of products, including snacks, fruits, beverages, vegetables, ice creams, etc. Swiggy Instamart’s business model facilitates ease and convenience for sellers.
BigBasket
BigBasket offers local delivery services across India. For orders within a distance of 1 to 2.5 km, it usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, and less than an hour for deliveries within a 6 km radius. It also offers slotted delivery for a wide range of products. A seller can register and become a member of its network of dark stores. It offers quick and same-day delivery.
Zomato
Zomato is a prominent name among customers who order food items. It offers local food delivery services in more than 1,000 cities and towns in India. If you run a restaurant or hotel, register on Zomato and list your menus for customers to choose from. Add photos of the dishes to attract more consumers. Zomato has partnered with companies like Pickingo, Grab, and Delhivery to enable doorstep delivery.
Blinkit
Blinkit is India’s largest and most convenient hyper-local delivery company. It enables the delivery of groceries, fruits, vegetables, and other daily essential products directly via a mobile app or web browser. It offers local delivery services in over 30 cities in India, delivering orders in 10 to 12 minutes. However, delivery times can vary depending on the location. You can easily become its partner; its delivery agents will collect orders and deliver them to customers.
Grab
Launched in 2013, Grab was India’s first startup to offer tech-abled delivery solutions to businesses. In recent years, it has built an expansive fleet of bike riders who deliver products in a hyperlocal region. It also offers intracity deliveries via its four-wheeler network. Grab is primarily a food delivery app with a network of a wide range of restaurants. It also offers same-day delivery, last-mile delivery, and on-demand parcel delivery for businesses.
Shiprocket Quick
Shiprocket Quick, a Shiprocket product, is specifically designed to cater to the hyperlocal delivery requirements of small businesses. In addition to quick rider assignment, it offers ease and convenience of booking courier partners from a single platform. Shiprocket Quick integrates several local delivery partners, including Dunzo, Borzo, Porter, etc., into one app. In addition to fast rider allocation to complete local deliveries quickly, it also offers the most affordable rates, live order tracking, API integrations, and multiple local delivery carrier options. You also don’t have to worry about an increase in rates with demand surges.
Local Delivery Vs. Last-Mile Delivery
The table below highlights the key differences between hyperlocal delivery and last-mile delivery.
| Parameter | Hyperlocal delivery | Last-mile delivery |
| Delivery area | It’s usually carried out within an area of 5 to 15 km. For very specific intracity orders, the distance can be 20 to 25 km and no greater. | It does not have any restrictions on delivery area. It can go upwards from 30 km. |
| Restrictions on weight and size of orders | It places some restrictions on the weight of products, limiting them to around 12 to 15 kg. It’s because the delivery agent should be able to carry it with ease on their preferred mode of transport. However, an extra weight can result in additional fees. | Generally, there are no restrictions on the weight and size of a parcel. Moreover, you don’t have to pay any extra fees for last-mile delivery since delivery charges are calculated at the time of order creation based on the weight and volume of the order. |
| Time taken for delivery | Hyperlocal delivery service is all about speed, efficiency, and reliability. Orders are delivered within a couple of hours of being placed. | Last-mile delivery can take anywhere between 1 to 2 days to complete. |
| Products delivered | It’s mostly used for essential items, including groceries, food, medicines, etc., since it’s carried out over a very small distance. These items are locally sourced for order fulfillment. | The items can vary since last-mile delivery involves both inter and intra-city deliveries. This can include cosmetics, apparel, equipment, etc. Time-sensitive or perishable items or those with limited shelf lives are generally not included. |
| Delivery agent | You can either hire delivery agents as part of your workforce or partner with local delivery partners to deliver orders. In either case, the responsibility to fulfill an order lies only in the hands of the seller. | Last-mile delivery exclusively involves delivery agents employed by logistics partners. Once you’ve selected a logistics partner to fulfill an order, they must ensure the order is successfully delivered to the customer. |
Benefits of Local Delivery for Your Business
Here are the major benefits of implementing hyperlocal delivery into your business.
- The biggest benefit of hyperlocal deliveries is that they are extremely quick. Most businesses are delivering orders in just within 10 to 45 minutes of being placed. Not even same-day delivery models can beat the delivery times of hyperlocal deliveries.
- You can cater to the varied and immediate needs of customers in your local area. It helps you attract more local customers, drive more sales, and earn more revenue.
- The speed and convenience of hyperlocal delivery services create a positive shopping experience for customers. It fosters brand loyalty and encourages customers to come back for repeat purchases.
- Offering delivery services in a local area lowers both transportation time and costs as compared to traditional delivery methods. Focusing on a specific geographical area, it reduces carbon footprints and creates a sustainable ecosystem.
- A single hyperlocal delivery app can help you manage all your business operations from a single place. Eventually, it improves operational efficiency.
- With globalisation, the focus has shifted from the local economy. Hyperlocal business models support local businesses, helping them thrive.
- It eliminates unnecessary intermediaries between your business and customers.
Challenges of Local Deliveries
Now, let’s look at the major challenges facing hyperlocal deliveries.
- You may receive a large number of orders (on special occasions). With fewer dedicated delivery partners and a lack of flexibility in delivery options, you may find it difficult to handle them and fulfill them on time.
- Inefficient delivery routes and incorrect addresses make it nearly impossible to make quick deliveries.
- Deliveries can also be delayed due to other unexpected factors. These include road closures, traffic congestion, poor connectivity, and high demand during peak hours.
- It often becomes difficult for retail outlets to expand their business beyond the boundaries of hyperlocal deliveries, reaching a saturation point. Thus, they keep operating in a limited geographical area.
- With order volumes spiking, it’s impossible for businesses to manage the varied delivery preferences of each customer.
- With the growing customer demand for quick deliveries, more businesses are offering hyperlocal delivery services. It’s increasing competition in the eCommerce industry.
How to Choose the Right Local Delivery App?
With so many options available, choosing the right hyperlocal delivery app can be a bit challenging. Let’s help you make the right decision for your business and customers.
- Coverage area: Make sure the hyperlocal delivery app you choose enables you to cover all the local areas you want to deliver to.
- Delivery speed and time: You should opt for a hyperlocal delivery app that lets you offer instant delivery, same-day delivery and next-day delivery to your customers.
- Customer reviews: Make sure you read customer reviews and testimonials before choosing a hyperlocal delivery app. It should be reliable in fulfilling orders.
- Essential features and functionalities: The hyperlocal delivery app should offer all essential features required to manage and fulfill orders timely. These features include live tracking, well-organised logistics and shipping systems, delivery scheduling, automatic location detection, product filtering, etc.
- Price transparency: Look for a hyperlocal delivery app that offers detailed billing information without any hidden charges.
- Return and refund policy: The hyperlocal delivery app you choose should enable your customers to easily return damaged or incorrect products. It should also facilitate a quick and easy refund process.
- Customer support: A responsive customer support team can help you resolve customer issues or queries promptly both during and after purchase. It shows you care about your customers.
- Number of delivery agents and shipping rates: See how many number of delivery agents they have employed. It’ll greatly affect the time and speed of delivering orders. Moreover, you shouldn’t fall for cheaper shipping rates. You should aim to strike a balance between the cost of using a hyperlocal delivery app, your budget, and its return on investment.
Costs Associated with Offering Local Delivery
There are both direct and indirect costs involved in implementing hyperlocal delivery services into your business.
Let’s look at the direct costs.
- Deliver partner fees if you partner with a third-party local delivery service provider. It’s usually paid as a subscription fee or commission for every order.
- The cost of implementing technology, including inventory tracking software, order management system, mobile applications, and other solutions required to manage hyperlocal delivery services.
- Packaging costs to ensure the proper packaging to maintain product quality during transit.
Here are the indirect costs associated with hyperlocal delivery services.
- Marketing and promotion costs to attract customers.
- Customer support service to ensure any issues and queries are resolved quickly and efficiently.
- You may incur additional administrative and logistical costs while handling returns and processing refunds.
- Perishable and time-sensitive items may go to waste.
Conclusion
As the demand for quick and reliable local delivery continues to grow, using the right delivery app can be a game-changer for your business. These apps enable your businesses to handle complex logistics with ease. They offer features like real-time tracking, optimised routes, and seamless integration with eCommerce platforms. Designed for seamless local delivery services, they can help you enhance operational efficiency, reduce delivery times, and ensure customer satisfaction. A positive customer’s shopping experience is key for any business to ensure long-term success.
