For many e-commerce retailers, focusing their efforts on making high quality products and creating elaborate sales & marketing strategies is considered a guaranteed way to gain a loyal customer base.
While, for the most part, the strategy may sound comprehensive and holistic, e-commerce retailers may overlook one vital aspect in creating a successful brand: Delivery & Fulfillment.
Consumers are becoming more demanding when it comes to quick delivery time, and the rise of strategies such as hyperlocal retail emphasize the importance of having a solid logistical plan in order to satisfy customers.
60% of online customers prefer brands that offer more convenience of delivery options, and customers abandon their carts 5 out of 8 times due to shipping-related inconveniences.
This means that, in order for e-commerce retailers to engage customers and sustain loyalty, being able to create an amazing product or service doesn’t cut it anymore. Customers, more than ever before, pay attention to the whole shopping journey.
One needs to look no further than the contribution Amazon has made to the e-commerce space, and how much they have shaped the expectations and demands of customers.
Through Amazon’s logistical savvy, much of customers’ delivery expectations can be attributed to the brand. The program offers shoppers free two-day delivery with no minimum purchase on over 10 million items. Three million items are offered free even on same-day deliveries.
Being able to offer such conveniences to consumers highlights the connection between customer loyalty and efficiency of shipping & fulfillment. Once customers trust a brand’s shipping capability, they’re more willing to spend greater amounts of money – 70% of online shoppers state that they’re likely to pay extra for expedited delivery.
But since not all retailers have the capabilities to operate at the same logistical level as brand giants such as Amazon, brands can choose to partner with fulfillment providers who provide centers in strategic locations to help them execute their shipping operations.
What’s important for retailers who might not have paid too much attention to delivery & fulfillment is that over 80% of customers are willing to give brands a second chance for as long as they remain transparent in their communications.
With 65% of consumers saying that they check for a brand’s capability to give free-shipping thresholds before adding items to their cart and 29% of consumers backing out because two-day shipping wasn’t free, retailers have a tall order to climb when it comes to servicing delivery & fulfillment demands of customers.
But all these statistics merely indicate an opportunity for e-commerce retailers to connect their whole operational process – from product refinement, marketing campaigns, website building, up until delivery & fulfillment – and refine the entire journey to craft a seamless shopping experience for their customers.
In the end, customers want to support brands who offer the most pleasurable and accessible shopping journeys possible, and delivery & fulfillment is an integral part of that journey.
Omnichannel platforms give you all the tools you need to speed up your delivery & order fulfillment capabilities. Learn more about ours here!
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