With a smartphone in the palm of nearly every American’s hand, the ability to quickly gratify consumer demands is becoming more than a means of differentiation — it’s critical to your small business’ success.

To remain competitive, small business owners must find ways to capitalize on so-called “micro-moments” and provide shoppers with fast — even instant — access to their goods. And for an e-commerce merchant, that means providing options for same-day shipping.

An on-demand world

When searching online, consumers want more than information. They want products, and they want them now.

“We are living in an increasingly on-demand world,” said Daphne Carmeli, founder and CEO of same-day delivery startup Deliv. “With time as one of our most precious commodities, consumers have quickly begun to expect everything to be available when they want it.”

According to Think With Google, mobile searches related to “same-day shipping” have grown over 120 percent since 2015, with queries peaking during morning hours. In fact, McKinsey & Company found that nearly a quarter (23 percent) of consumers are willing to pay a premium to get their purchases quickly, and predicts that same-day and instant delivery will make up a quarter of the package delivery market by 2025.

Expedited shipping vs. same-day delivery

According to Brian Gibbs, founder of Refund Retriever, same-day shipping means that a client’s order will leave the warehouse the same day as checkout, while same-day delivery indicates door-to-door delivery within hours of checkout.

It’s important for business owners to understand the difference between same-day shipping and same-day delivery, said Brian Gibbs, founder of Refund Retriever, a service that helps business analyze shipping costs, negotiate contracts and more.