We recently wrote an article about the emergence of preorder fashion and it's huge benefits for both producers and the planet (you can find it here). But preorders don't extend to fashion alone, you can preorder, iphones, books, a Tesla, playstations, furniture and video games. The preorder system is incredibly useful in helping brands learn about their customers, accurately predict sales, and prevents companies being left with more stock than they can sell. But preorders can also tell us a lot about our purchasing habits, and whether we, as consumers, are able to live in a world where we can't have everything we want, when we want it.
The benefits of preorders are big. They reduce not only the waste of any garments or items that would have to be disposed of, but also the extra resources and fuels needed to get products to suppliers who then send them back or dispose of them later. The ability to know how many items they will sell also often makes them cheaper, as producers don't have to leave big margins covering costs of items they can't sell. Preorder makes goods cheaper,more sustainable and increases efficiency, but it's hard to imagine a future in which we can't buy some things immediately.
We have become accustomed to instant gratification, our food is instant, our social interactions are instant online, and even our dating can be instant. This year UberEats saw a 30% increase in users signing up, a statistic which, although likely due to the pandemic, indicates the increase in demand for instant purchasing, and wasn't unexpected given that UberEats' users went from 15 million to 21 million from 2018-2019.
So how will preorders hold up in a world reliant on immediate satisfaction? Hopefully quite well if the research is true. Not only have studies on anticipation shown that waiting for something brings about higher levels of end pleasure, but also that consumers are increasingly being driven by quality and sustainability - both big perks of preorder systems.
In Cape Town, a start up company delivering zero-waste vegan sushi has taken on a preorder system as a means of reducing food waste. Connor Phillips, founder of Plushi, said that preorders have helped them eliminate food waste as well as cut down on carbon emissions due to carefully planned delivery routes. "I think preorders will definitely take off in the future and I think people like the decision of what to eat for dinner being made for them", mentioned Phillips. He also explained that after sending out a survey to their customers after their 3rd successful month of deliveries, they were surprised to find that 81.6% of people said they would be 90% or 100% likely to order food for a delivery for the following week, many even explaining the desire for subscription orders. What this indicates is that whilst people may desire instant satisfaction, an ability for people to plan ahead can allow people instant satisfaction to come in an even more convenient form.
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This coincides with what has been said about convenience being a key cornerstone shaping the future of retail. It also brings hope to the future of preorders and shows that from clothes to food, we can build new ways to shopping that benefit people and planet.
Written by Frances Housdon
Fran is a young South African journalism graduate passionate about the outdoors, and getting other people to enjoy them with her. She loves paddling down long rivers, exploring big mountains and consuming bulk quantities of peanut butter.
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