When does the express option have the final say

　　"The delivery address I left on the e-commerce platform is written with the specific house number, but now when I receive the goods, I either receive an SMS notification to go to the express cabinet to pick up the goods by myself, or the goods are signed at the door, or the goods are not received. When you receive the goods, you will be "signed"." Speaking of all kinds of "wonderful" express delivery experiences, online shopping enthusiast Wang Fang (pseudonym) seemed a little helpless, "Moreover, the courier did not ask for my consent in advance."

　　Zhang Jia (pseudonym), a consumer who has a similar experience with Wang Fang, also bluntly said that there is no express cabinet in his community, but since he opened an express station, now he always has to pick up packages by SMS notification. "In fact, every time I When placing the order, I did not choose the station collection service."

Why is it so "struggling" to sign for the package in person

　　Nowadays, in the end-of-express delivery service, many online shoppers find it increasingly difficult to sign for parcels in person.

　　In the community where Wang Fang lives, a courier delivering couriers told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily, “I need to deliver at least 300 single couriers every day. It will reach 75% before 2 o'clock. There are express cabinets in this community, and most of the packages in the two units I am responsible for are usually put in the cabinets. If the efficiency of delivery from house to house is too low."

　　In the eyes of the courier, this is a "good deal" account.

He said that the salary incentive mechanism for couriers is more work, more rewards.

He now sends a commission of 1 yuan for each order. If they are delivered to the door, customers will have to call to confirm if they are not at home. It costs phone bills and time. It would be difficult to complete the order amount on time while still collecting more pieces.

Although it is directly put into the express cabinet, you need to pay a rent ranging from 0.35 to 0.50 yuan according to the grid of different specifications at your own expense, but the efficiency is improved, and it can also save more time for dispatching and collecting parts.

　　For courier companies, cooperating with courier stations is a more efficient way to save money.

An inn owner said that now some express outlets will pull the entire truck of express parcels from certain old communities to the inn at once, and the inn will be responsible for subsequent delivery.

Because the delivery fee to the inn is lower than that to the courier, so there is no need to assign a courier to the area with an inn, which saves costs for the courier company.

"Furthermore, couriers are not willing to spend time and energy climbing stairs every day to deliver goods. But to be honest, I have limited staff, so it is impossible to deliver all of them to my door." The station boss told reporters.

Free shipping is "free" of choice

　　In fact, whether it is the "roughness" of the courier's work or the ease of the delivery network map, it is not unrelated to the increasing volume of express delivery.

According to data from the State Post Bureau, from January to July this year, the total business volume of express service companies across the country completed 58.33 billion pieces, exceeding the annual level of 50.71 billion pieces in 2018.

　　The rapid growth of express delivery is inseparable from online shopping.

The reporter asked whether he could choose a courier company by himself in several different types of shops and customer service on an e-commerce platform. The answers he got were all "not accepting the designated courier", mostly because the cooperating courier company has been defaulted.

　　An analyst in the transportation industry of a securities company explained that from the perspective of consumer psychology, free shipping can easily make consumers feel that they don’t have to pay “extra” express delivery fees and that the transaction is cost-effective.

But in fact, this is just a marketing tool.

Due to the large amount of delivery, e-commerce sellers often prefer to choose express companies that are willing to provide lower service fees due to the consideration of the cost of express delivery.

In order to gain market share, express companies will also choose to trade low prices for volume.

This directly leads to an increase in the workload of couriers. In the case of tight time and heavy tasks, the quality of service is likely to be "discounted."

"Consumers have no option of express delivery, so they can only passively become recipients of this low-quality service."

　　Li Xiaolong, director of the Postal Management Department of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, also believes that for many years, in the field of e-commerce, express companies have gradually formed an oligopolistic competition through price-for-volume exchange. The price of express delivery is low. Distribute a single ticket to reduce costs.

However, the workload of couriers has increased unabated, ultimately harming the interests of consumers who lack the right to choose.

Can the express option "return" to consumers

　　For courier services, consumer needs are also different.

The reporter learned during the interview that some consumers expressed their willingness to exchange high prices for good services, even if they paid a little more, it was acceptable; some paid more attention to cost performance and tended to choose a courier company with a lower price in the same service level; some Consumers suggest that e-commerce sellers can set up several express service grades according to the service quality and price of the express company, and then choose one of the different grades to determine the cooperative relationship for consumers to choose.

　　In July this year, seven departments including the Ministry of Transport, the State Post Bureau, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Opinions on Doing a Good Job in Protecting the Legal Rights and Interests of the Courier Group", clearly guiding e-commerce platforms and express companies to strengthen the system connection to meet differentiated services Demand, to ensure the user's right to choose independently.

The relevant person in charge of the State Post Bureau also publicly stated that it is necessary to promote the implementation of the requirement of "separation of commodity pricing and express delivery service pricing" so that consumers can choose express delivery services based on the company's service capabilities, business reputation and express delivery prices.

　　Li Xiaolong said that the separation of commodity pricing and express delivery service pricing can give consumers more space to choose express delivery, which will help guide express delivery companies to meet the needs of consumers for differentiated services and focus on improving the quality of express delivery services themselves.

However, this involves the re-division of the interests of e-commerce sellers, e-commerce platforms, express companies and consumers, which may be difficult at the practical level.

　　For example, in the self-selection model, e-commerce sellers need to connect with many express companies for consumers to choose, which will increase their operating costs; e-commerce platforms need to reform the existing system to provide express delivery options, and the construction cost will also increase.

At the same time, because order rake is a source of income for the platform, with the addition of the express delivery option, the time for consumers from browsing products to placing an order will become longer, and the platform's operating income per unit time will also decrease.

　　"It is the common responsibility of e-commerce sellers, e-commerce platforms, and express companies to protect consumers' right to choose." Li Xiaolong suggested that in order to change the current situation of insufficient motivation for e-commerce sellers to change express service methods, relevant government departments can introduce some supporting policies. .

For example, a certain degree of tax relief is granted to e-commerce sellers who actively implement the separation of commodity prices and express prices.

　　Express delivery companies should adjust their product structure and price system. Express delivery products can be divided into ordinary parts, time-effective parts, cold-chain parts, etc. For example, time-effective products can be appropriately increased in price, so that consumers can enjoy same-day delivery and next-day delivery. Wait for faster and more convenient services.

At the same time, differentiated prices are set according to the service standards of different products to facilitate consumers' choices.

For example, the price of services that are placed in express cabinets or express stations instead of home delivery can be appropriately reduced, so that the price paid by consumers and the service can be better matched.

　　The e-commerce platform should use the system to transform the online express service selection function, so that it can be highly linked with the products and price data of more express companies, so that consumers can choose independently.

At the same time, the express service evaluation function will be added to promote express companies to improve service quality and enhance user experience.

　　China Youth Daily · China Youth Daily reporter Li Zhuo Source: China Youth Daily