Crosstown are London's leading sweet treat connoisseurs, with a legion of fans crowning them as the best doughnuts, ice cream and cookies in London [even Nigella Lawson is a huge fan]. They are handcrafted, fresh, packed with the finest ingredients that are full of flavour and can be delivered in record time - an average of 22 minutes from order to delivery to be precise! If a lychee and raspberry doughnut doesn’t have you salivating then we don’t know what will.
The doughnut on demand delivery option would not be possible without Stuart, Crosstown’s selected speedy delivery providers. Crosstown joined the Stuart platform way back in February 2016, when Stuart had only been operating for around 6 months. This relationship is 5 years in the making and still going strong. Currently all Crosstown sites that offer online ordering, operate using Stuart. Crosstown has locations spanning across London, recently opening in Cambridge. That means you can get fresh goodness from Battersea to Greenwich and everywhere in between, with tens of thousands of products being delivered since 2016.
Although infamous for their sourdough doughnuts (which they invented), Crosstown are also cookie, ice cream and milkshake specialists. This further showcases Stuart’s ability to not only transport food items quickly, but to do so also in a convenient and safe way in thermal bags, ensuring items such as ice cream remain unscathed.
Doughnuts-to-door in under 30 minutes
The Stuart x Crosstown partnership allows end-customers to order artisanal sweet treats for same day delivery, from store-to-door directly on the Crosstown website. It couldn’t be easier! End-customers can choose either an on demand service or scheduled slots for later in the day. The on demand aspect means delivery in under 30 minutes, with an average customer order to delivery time of 22 minutes. The scheduled element allows the end-customer to select hour time slots that work best for them and their schedule. Convenience, precision and speed are key benefits of this service, which the Crosstown customers see as a huge value add:
"Outstanding service in London! Ordered kind of last minute for a friend, with a special gift note and they packaged and delivered in less than an hour! Everything went smoothly despite the specific delivery requirements and the surprise was very well received!" - Customer review
To contribute to the smooth delivery process, every customer is sent a live tracking link via SMS once the courier leaves, which according to Metapack’s Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2021, 87% of consumers say is key. When the courier is 5 minutes away you receive another SMS to notify you that they will be arriving soon. This constant communication and transparency results in an overall great service.
Facilitated through ordering platform partnerships
With consumers’ changing demands, retailers have had to adapt by offering alternative delivery options that are both faster and more sustainable. This can be achieved by turning stores into micro fulfilment centres, allowing shipping directly from the source. This not only makes the process quicker but also means delivery distances are shorter, as the product is in a closer proximity to the end-customer.
Turning Crosstown’s physical stores into delivery hubs, allowing shipping directly from shop, was a simple process as they power their online ordering experience with direct to consumer ordering platform, Slerp. This allowed Crosstown to offer end-customers not only on demand delivery but also a pre-order offering for future days and nationwide delivery. With 25% of online shoppers stating they would abandon their shopping cart if same day delivery was not an option, the importance of having this offer at checkout is clear - losing 1 in 4 customers at checkout is now avoidable.
"Utilising our store network as hubs has allowed us to deliver (literally!) a Crosstown experience to more customers than ever before. We have consciously invested in our own online channel for all order types, and on-demand orders delivered by our partners Stuart are an integral aspect of our plan." - JP Then, Crosstown Co-Founder
Same day delivery has been voted the single feature that online shoppers both most want and expect. Own your data and your customers’ experience by widening your delivery strategy and empowering your website with more delivery options. Get in contact with our team to find out more.
