“They’ve come to expect it from so many areas of their lives,” Lenton told Inside Retail.  “It’s only natural that they would want it from fashion, and I think that, with a good footprint of stores around the country, it’s going to be a real competitive advantage [for Cue].” In the next few weeks, Cue will begin showcasing items available for one-hour delivery through a widget on its website, displaying which store the item will come from, and how long it will take to reach the customer’s postcode. Customers will also be able to track their deliveries in the Uber app through a real-time GPS display, similar to how UberEats and Uber already function. And with the current industry-wide delays in shipping and fulfilment, Lenton expects the increased certainty of the offer will tempt even more people to buy online. “If you need an item for a particularly time-sensitive event, it’s guaranteed that you’ll get the order on time,” Lenton said.  “I think that will have a major influence on people’s behaviour. We’ve had a huge utilisation of click-and-collect, and one of the biggest drivers of that service is the guarantee that the customer can place an order, then head in-store and pick the item up in the same day.” Shippit’s co-CEO Rob Hango-Zada agreed, noting that beyond convenience, customers crave certainty, predictability and speed when it comes to deliveries: the number of same-day deliveries has tripled in the last year, and he expects that figure to grow. “This is a hugely significant time for not only the fashion industry, but Australia’s entire retail sector,” Hango-Zada told Inside Retail.  “To be able to expand our on-demand offering in Australia with Uber and retailers like Cue is really exciting, but it’s only the beginning. We believe next- hour delivery will quickly evolve from a ‘nice to have’ to essential.” Decarbonising the last mile According to Uber’s Future of Delivery Report, the Asia-Pacific will account for almost half of all parcel deliveries in the next five years, and it will be the biggest region by delivery volume.  With more people than ever before shopping online, it is becoming increasingly important to find ways to decarbonise the last mile. Shippit and Uber’s efforts will push a more sustainable last-mile solution, Hango-Zada said, as utilising Uber’s micro-mobile workforce – gig-workers utilising bikes rather than delivery vans – could cut the level of emissions needed in order to get a parcel from store to door by an estimated 90 per cent. Uber’s report said tapping into a micro-mobile last-mile delivery system will be increasingly important for businesses and cities in the next few years in order to meet net-zero commitments. “By tapping into [Uber’s] delivery network, we’re localising the delivery and providing Australians with greater certainty and transparency,” said Hango-Zada. “By [changing] the way we approach last-mile delivery, we’re not only benefiting consumers, we’re reducing congestion and easing our carbon footprint, too.”