The expansion of the e-commerce industry, especially in the developing countries, on account of the increasing internet and smartphone penetration, and the changing styles of logistics models are driving the demand for retail logistics across the world. As per the findings of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the share of online retail sales in the worldwide retail sales grew from 16% to 19% in 2020. Additionally, the organization also observed that e-commerce sales all over the world increased to $26.7 trillion in 2019, recording a rise of 4% from 2018.
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| Retail Logistics Market Outlook |
Furthermore, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in India, the e-commerce order volume surged by 36% in the last quarter of 2020. Retail logistics is basically a sub-arm of logistics. In simple terms, it can be defined as an instrumental process of managing the merchandise flow from the supply source to customers. The retail logistics system ensures smooth flow of products to customers via efficient logistics movement. Basically, this system ensures the delivery of the right product to the right customer at the right time and at the right place.
Thus, the growing popularity of online shopping is positively impacting the progress of the global retail logistics market. There are mainly two types of retail logistics solutions— e-commerce and conventional. Between these, the demand for conventional retail logistics solutions was found to be higher between 2014 and 2019, on account of the inventory and retailer model of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), under which, the retailer would manage the first mile delivery of the product, while the last mile delivery would be managed by customers, who will travel to the store and bring the product to his/her home.
