Australian consumers may soon receive their online purchases faster and via a greener delivery method as retailers look at using pedal power and electric bikes to reduce costs as well as emissions.
Global retailer H&M is trialling bicycle delivery for its retail products in the Netherlands, where cyclists offer next-day delivery for online purchases across 30 cities.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) business school Professor Gary Mortimer said the trial could see a similar greener alternative soon offered to Australian customers.

“Smart move — we haven’t seen it here in Australia really by any retailer,” Professor Mortimer said.

When you buy online, you want to get it pretty quickly, and throwing it onto the back of a bike and zipping it around, you can get it done in an hour or so.”

Professor Mortimer said the growth of online retailing — between 12 per cent and 13 per cent in 2019 — was forcing local brands to think of different ways to get products to customers.

“The challenge is that last mile being able to get that product from the retail’s business to your home pretty quickly,” he said.

‘Pollution-free mode of transport’

While bike delivery was less common among Australian retailers, restaurants were among 11,000 worldwide using cycling couriers like Deliveroo.

Deliveroo spokeswoman Joanne Woo said the company had 9,000 riders in Australia and bicycles had been an important part of the company’s fleet since day one.

4″Bicycles work best in areas that are highly populated,” Ms Woo said.

“Of course cycling is a pollution-free mode of transport — a person who rides 10 kilometres each way to work will save around 150,000 kilograms of carbon emissions each year.

“When you see that transport is the second largest source of carbon emissions in Australia, it is a massive saving if we can get more people to cycle.”

The company’s delivery fleet in the Netherlands is made up of 90 per cent bicycles, in comparison to just 10 per cent in Australia.

While Australia Post still delivers 2.2 billion letters annually, its business is increasingly in parcel delivery and the company is turning to electric pushbikes to try and faze out motorbikes.

Australia Post’s Last Mile Implementation national head Colin Hindle said the electric pushbike fleet had been rolling out for the past six years.