Digital Disruption: E-commerce Trends, Threats and Opportunities for the Truckstop Industry

Added on: July 11, 2019

Abstract:

E-commerce is disrupting the traditional retail world, growing six times faster than bricks-and-mortar retail and accounting for almost 10 percent of consumer spending. At the same time, the e-commerce landscape is changing customers’ expectations and creating a culture of convenience. More and more retailers are offering one-hour, same-day or next-day deliveries and investing in omni-channel networks so they can capitalize on consumer demand for even greater speeds and ease.

While no industry is immune from the effect of e-commerce, growth in the sector could have a double effect on the truckstop and travel plaza industry. Growth in online shopping and the need for rapid deliveries is creating dramatic shifts in the supply chain as retailers work to move goods closer to consumers, which is reducing the average length of haul and the needs of over-the-road drivers. At the same time, growth in e-commerce will alter the mix of products truckstops and travel plaza operators sell inside the stores and increase shoppers’ expectations of service.

What Does This Whitepaper Include?

This whitepaper has four parts, a bonus deep dive into Amazon and a glossary of terms.

Specifically, it covers:

• Executive Summary
• Part 1: What Are the Trends?
  • Freight Logistics
  • What Online Shoppers are Buying
  • Professional Drivers and the Internet
  • Consumers Demand Convenience
• Part 2: What are the Threats?
  • Specific Truckstop Concerns
  • Digital Disruption Within the Truckstop and Travel Plaza Industry Space
• Part 3: What Are the Strategies for Adapting Specifically Tailored For Truckstops?
  • Opportunities for Truckstops and Travel Plazas
  • How Others Are Going Head-to-Head with Amazon
• Part 4: What Questions Should Truckstop Operators Ask Themselves to Plan for the Future?
• Bonus: A Special Deep Dive into Amazon
  • Amazon’s Logistics Network
  • The Power of Prime
  • The Amazon Way
  • The Internet of Things
• Glossary of Terms