There is no denying we have grown increasingly impatient over the years.
Since the rise of technology, and especially the internet age, we have progressed further and faster than ever before.
Online life can move and change in an instant, deals can be made, transactions completed, and all at lightning speed.
With that speed comes increased impatience.
Question and Answer site Quora, when talking about the positives and negatives of the internet, has an answer that sums it up perfectly:
“We expect everything to be instant. Patience has dwindled and people have low tolerance to waiting”.
When ordering something online that impatience translates into speed of delivery.
Not all of us want a delivery the next day, or even 3 days later. But most of us do.
In fact, for some, even having to wait a complete day is considered slow.
Speed of delivery is such an important issue that competition is rife to provide the quickest and most reliable service when it comes to delivering your online purchased product.
Article Chapters
Instant Purchase & Delivery
One of the key problems when ordering online, especially when it comes to our perception of delivery times, is the instant purchase and delivery.
Since the advent of one-click buying and products which are perfect for the online digital world we have got used to almost instant gratification.
Wikipedia defines ‘one-click or one-click buying’ as ‘the technique of allowing customers to make purchases with the payment information needed to complete the purchase having been entered by the user previously’.
So, after an initial investment of time for one time, and one time only, we just sit back and click away to make our purchases.
When this is combined with products in digital form like an album, computer game or movie.
Products which, when the transaction is made, will wing their way to you at the speed of your internet and can be received in seconds, then it creates an expectation.
An expectation furthered by our growing impatience.
The expectation that if one thing can be ordered online and delivered practically at the speed of light then why can’t another.
Delivery Times Can Vary
We know delivery times can be subject to many factors.
In the fast food sector, where you want your delivery to be quick so the food will arrive hot, you will find delivery time promises of 30mins.
The standard average delivery time for other products ranging from furniture to computers, to clothing or sports equipment, incurring no additional cost, seems to range, on average, between 3 to 5 working days for European destinations and 7 to 10 working days for worldwide delivery.
We know some things take time.
There are logistics involved.
Getting from point A, where the product is, to point B, where you are, requires a lot of interaction between many people.
There are at least the person picking your product and posting it and the people and vehicles involved in delivering it.
We know that. But still we want out deliveries asap.
For now, the predominate last line in online delivery is the free next-day delivery.
The next day is the quickest a company can reliably offer to get a product to you, subject to certain stipulations, like placing an order before a given time.
Sometimes that delivery may come at an additional cost but when we see it for free it provides an additional enticement to order with that specific company.
While our impatience may be making some of us to consider that a next-day delivery is slow if you think that you have a problem with impatience there are online tests you can take to discover just how impatient you are.
Obviously consulting, or taking advice, from a trained professional is the recommended course of action if you really feel you have a problem.