Dive Brief:

• AxelHire, a logistics technology company, unveiled “No-Touch Delivery,” a collection of digital tools for consumers to receive their deliveries while maintaining their physical distance from delivery personnel, the company announced on Monday.

• With the AxelHire app, consumers can sign for packages on their own mobile devices to avoid touching the driver’s mobile device, per the company’s statement.

• Consumers also have the option to sign before their package arrives, opt-out of attended delivery and update delivery instructions through the app, the company also notes.

Dive Insight:

Interestingly enough, AxelHire lists companies like Ikea, Pet Food Express, HelloFresh and Blue Apron as part of its clientele, per the company’s website. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, grocery apps have experienced a spike in app downloads while takeout delivery app downloads have declined, according to research from Apptopia. 

While AxelHire’s technology is delivery-focused, others are introducing their technology to in-store retailers. This month, Amazon announced that it was selling its cashierless technology to other retailers, and FutureProof has donated its mobile checkout tech to retailers for free.

Meanwhile, more consumers are shifting their spending online to avoid shopping in grocery stores, pharmacies and other retailers deemed essential. It appears that AxelHire is responding, in part, to people’s coronavirus-related concerns. 

“Social distancing is one of the key ways to slow [COVID-19], and because of this, the team at AxleHire reimagined the home delivery process for consumers so that our drivers and recipients can maintain the proper distance,” Daniel Sokolovsky, founder of AxleHire, said in a statement. “A key feature of No-Touch Delivery now allows consumers to sign for packages on their mobile device, therefore the recipient does not have to touch the driver’s mobile device to sign for a package. This means our drivers and the recipient can maintain at least a safe six-foot distance from each other.”

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Amazon’s ability to deliver goods quickly and cheaply played a role in shifting consumers’ expectations for quick, low-cost shipping. The company’s efforts to speed up its shipping offerings from two-day to one-day shipping have led to sales gains. But even as shoppers pivot to shopping online more, analysts from Morgan Stanley and Wedbush don’t anticipate that e-commerce will make up for the drop in in-store shopping during the pandemic.